title: Size-exclusion chromatography-from high-performance to ultra-performance.
abstract: Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) enables measurement of the average molecular weights and molecular-weight distributions of polymers. Because these characteristics may, in turn, be correlated with important performance characteristics of plastics, SEC is an essential analytical technique for characterization of macromolecules. Although SEC is one of the oldest instrumental chromatographic techniques, it is still under continuous development, as a result of the great demand for increased resolution and faster analysis in SEC. Ultra-high-pressure size-exclusion chromatography (UHPSEC) was recently introduced to satisfy the growing demands of analytical chemists. Using instrumentation capable of generating very high pressures and columns packed with small particles, this technique enables greater separation efficiency and faster analysis than are achieved with conventional SEC. UHPSEC is especially advantageous for high-resolution analysis of oligomers, for very rapid polymer separations, and as a second dimension in comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography of polymers. In this paper we discuss the benefits of UHPSEC for separation of macromolecules, with examples from the literature.
authors.affiliation: SABIC, Technology and Innovation, Analytical Technology, Plasticslaan 1, 4600 AC, Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands, elena.uliyanchenko@sabic-ip.com.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uliyanchenko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002850:Chromatography, Gel / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011506:Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011506:Proteins