Editing Differential scanning calorimetry (section)

{{Short description|Thermoanalytical technique}}
{{Infobox chemical analysis
| name = Differential Scanning calorimetry
| image = Inside DSC small.jpg
| caption = Differential scanning calorimeter  
| acronym = DSC
| classification = [[Thermal analysis]]
| analytes = 
| manufacturers = TA Instruments,<br /> [[Mettler Toledo]],<br /> [[Hitachi]],<br /> [[Shimadzu]],<br /> [[PerkinElmer]], <br />[[Malvern Instruments]],
<br />NETZSCH-Gruppe
| related = [[Isothermal microcalorimetry]]<br />[[Isothermal titration calorimetry]]<br />[[Dynamic mechanical analysis]]<br />[[Thermomechanical analysis]]<br />[[Thermogravimetric analysis]]<br />[[Differential thermal analysis]]<br />[[Dielectric thermal analysis]]
| hyphenated = 
}}

'''Differential scanning calorimetry''' ('''DSC''') is a [[thermal analysis|thermoanalytical]] technique in which the difference in the amount of [[heat]] required to increase the [[temperature]] of a sample and reference is measured as a function of temperature.<ref>{{Citation |last=Freire |first=Ernesto |title=Differential Scanning Calorimetry |date=1995 |url=https://doi.org/10.1385/0-89603-301-5:191 |work=Protein Stability and Folding: Theory and Practice |pages=191–218 |editor-last=Shirley |editor-first=Bret A. |access-date=2023-08-09 |series=Methods in Molecular Biology |volume=40 |place=Totowa, NJ |publisher=Humana Press |language=en |doi=10.1385/0-89603-301-5:191 |pmid=7633523 |isbn=978-1-59259-527-3|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Both the sample and reference are maintained at nearly the same temperature throughout the experiment.

Generally, the temperature program for a DSC analysis is designed such that the sample holder temperature increases linearly as a function of time. The reference sample should have a well-defined [[heat capacity]] over the range of temperatures to be scanned.

Additionally, the reference sample must be stable, of high purity, and must not experience much change across the temperature scan. Typically, reference standards have been metals such as [[indium]], [[tin]], [[bismuth]], and [[lead]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780128173428/carbon-based-nanofillers-and-their-rubber-nanocomposites |access-date=2023-05-10 |language=en |title=Carbon-Based Nanofillers and Their Rubber Nanocomposites |isbn=9780128173428 |last1=Yaragalla |first1=Srinivasarao |last2=Mishra |first2=Raghvendra Kumar |last3=Thomas |first3=Sabu |last4=Kalarikkal |first4=Nandakumar |last5=Maria |first5=Hanna J. |date=11 February 2019 |publisher=Elsevier Science }}</ref> but other standards such as [[polyethylene]] and [[fatty acids]] have been proposed to study polymers and organic compounds, respectively.

The technique was developed by E. S. Watson and M. J. O'Neill in 1962,<ref>{{US patent|3263484}}.</ref> and introduced commercially at the 1963 [[Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy]].

The first [[adiabatic]] differential scanning calorimeter that could be used in biochemistry was developed by P. L. Privalov and D. R. Monaselidze in 1964 at Institute of Physics in [[Tbilisi]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].<ref>{{cite book|year=1975|title=Molecular biology|volume=6|place=Moscow |pages=7–33 |language=ru}}</ref> The term DSC was coined to describe this instrument, which measures energy directly and allows precise measurements of heat capacity.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Wunderlich B |year=1990|title=Thermal Analysis|place=New York|publisher=Academic Press|pages=137–140|isbn=0-12-765605-7}}</ref>