Microparticle

Microparticles are particles between 0.1 and 100 μm in size. Commercially available microparticles are available in a wide variety of materials, including ceramics, glass, polymers, and metals. Microparticles encountered in daily life include pollen, sand, dust, flour, and powdered sugar.

This article is about the particles. For the software company, see Microsphere (software company). For other uses, see microsphere (disambiguation). For the biological cell fragment, see Microvesicles.
IUPAC definition

Particle with dimensions between 1 × 10−7 and 1 × 10−4 m.

Note 1: The lower limit between micro- and nano-sizing is still a matter of debate.

Note 2: To be consistent with the prefix “micro” and the range imposed by the definition,
dimensions of microparticles should be expressed in μm.

Microparticles have a much larger surface-to-volume ratio than at the macroscale, and thus their behavior can be quite different. For example, metal microparticles can be explosive in air.

Microspheres are spherical microparticles, and are used where consistent and predictable particle surface area is important.

In biological systems, a microparticle is synonymous with a microvesicle, a type of extracellular vesicle (EV).

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