Polymorphism, solubility, stability, purity, amorphous phase and hydratation are parameters of major importance in this field. When seeking the right active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), with its corresponding bioavailability and bioactivity, thermal analysis and calorimetry are the perfect tools for complete characterisation, and for understanding and solving numerous problems.

Stability of biological systems (from proteins and nucleic acids through lipids and detergent micellar systems), characterization of biomolecular interactions, enzyme/substrate kinetics are of major importance in this field.
Ultrasensitive Microcalorimetry is widely applicable in Life Sciences.
The technology is of particular interest as it is label free, does not require immobilization and makes use of highly diluted solutions.

The control of industrial manufacturing or transformation processes is of vital importance. In addition to the fundamental economic implications of control, protection of personnel and the environment makes the safety of such processes a crucial issue for companies using chemical reactions on an industrial scale. Calorimetry allows measurement of the thermodynamic and kinetic data necessary for the design of safe processes

Each stage in the nuclear fuel cycle, from ore extraction to fuel recycling and waste management, requires characterisation of the different materials used and accurate quantifying of radioactive substances. Thermal analysis and calorimetry can provide accurate measurement solutions at each stage.

Setaram sells the Gas Hydrates technology UNDER IFP's LICENCE (French Petroleum Industry) PA WO 2006/129018 A2 Although hydrates are known to store immense amounts of methane, with major implications for energy resources and climate, the natural controls on hydrates and their impacts on the environment are very poorly understood. With the adaptation of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) to high pressure investigations, the calorimetric technique is the most suitable method for predicting gas hydrate formation, determining the thermodynamic properties and the kinetics of formation and dissociation with any type of gas and mixture.

Fossil fuels are present in nature in different forms: solid, liquid, gas. Most of them are directly burned as fuel, carbonized or distilled to produce secondary fuels. The thermal treatment is of great importance in fossil fuel uses. Thermal analysis and calorimetry are of prime interest in this field, especially for crude oil, coal, oil shales or heavy oils especially, for their classification and characterization, for their thermal transformation and for the combustion process.

Hydrogen can be produced as a storable, clean fuel from the world's sustainable nonfossil primary energy sources—solar energy, wind energy, hydropower, biomass, geothermal, nuclear, or tidal. Storage of hydrogen in solid materials has the potential to become a safe and efficient way to store energy, both for stationary and mobile applications with fuel cells. The calorimetric techniques are ideal tools for the investigation of the storage capacities of various materials under normal and high pressures. Thermal techniques are also used for the investigation of ceramics and materials used in the fuel cells.

Ceramic materials (technical or rafractory )are inorganic and non-metallic. Usually they are shaped from the "green body" at room temperature and acquire their typical properties during a sintering process at high temperatures. Thermal analysis and calorimetry are perfect tools for complete characterization and understanding of ceramics materials.

Thermal analysis and Calorimetry are vital tools for characterizing, optimizing and checking new metals and alloys.

Polymers are used widely in many forms, from the most common solids such as thermoplastics, elastomers or thermosets, to solutions as in stabilizers, emulsifiers, thickening agents or as additives for paints, coatings, etc. The specific nature and complexity of polymers makes a number of physico-analytical techniques necessary for their characterization. Thermal analysis is the tool of choice from amongst these, as it can be used at all stages, from development of new formulations to processing and characterization of final products.

The miniaturization of electronic components implies severe thermal conditions for materials inside chips and their coatings. Thermal analysis and Calorimetry are vital tools for characterizing, optimizing and controlling these materials.

Efforts to be highly competitive in the food industry, where competition is fierce; the requirements of supermarket distribution; concentration of central merchandizing; and medical, legal and environmental requirements are obliging companies to reinforce their sales, quality, research and development functions.

R&D and academic institutions make extensive use of a range of thermal analysis and calorimetry methods to characterise a wide variety of materials. Uses cover applications in the areas of discovery (accelerating R&D, forensic analysis, assessing thermal characteristics), manufacture (safety, Q/C), and use of materials (long-term behaviour).