Hot-stage microscopy is used to study the physical and chemical behavior of materials when subjected to controlled heating or cooling. It enables the observation of phase transitions, decomposition, and formation of new compounds in real time, making it especially valuable for characterizing temperature-dependent transformations.
By allowing visual tracking of melt and crystallization behavior, hot-stage microscopy helps identify polymorphic changes, solvate formation, and other thermal transitions. These observations offer structural insight into how a compound behaves under heat and whether any impurities affect its thermal properties.
Phase transitions captured through microscopy can reveal changes that impact drug formulation, such as shifts in crystal form or material incompatibilities.