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Handbook of Size Exclusion Chromatography and Related ...

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4<br />

Molecular Weight<br />

Sensitive Detectors for<br />

<strong>Size</strong> <strong>Exclusion</strong><br />

<strong>Chromatography</strong><br />

Christian Jackson <strong>and</strong> Howard G. Barth<br />

E. I. du Pont de Nemours <strong>and</strong> Company<br />

Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.<br />

1 INTRODUCTION<br />

<strong>Size</strong> exclusion chromatography (SEC) provides a rapid, high-resolution method<br />

for determining molecular weight distributions (MWD) <strong>of</strong> macromolecules. In the<br />

conventional mode, the molecular weight is determined by calibrating the column<br />

to determine the relation between elution volume <strong>and</strong> molecular weight. The<br />

size exclusion separation mechanism is based on the effective hydrodynamic<br />

volume <strong>of</strong> the molecule, not the molecular weight, <strong>and</strong> as a result the system must<br />

be calibrated using st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>of</strong> known molecular weight <strong>and</strong> homogeneous<br />

chemical composition. The chemical composition must be the same as the<br />

st<strong>and</strong>ards to he analyzed, <strong>and</strong> the calibrated molecular weight range must be<br />

greater than the range <strong>of</strong> molecular weights to be analyzed. The calibration curve<br />

is thus specific to a given polymer–solvent system.<br />

For many commercial polymers the columns cannot be calibrated because<br />

well-characterized st<strong>and</strong>ards are unavailable. The situation is further complicated<br />

© 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

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