Molecular weight instrumentation

Gel-permeation chromatography (Stalling et al. 1972) which is essentially a fractionation dependent on differences in molecular weight Instrumental improvements to avoid the problem of tailing triglyceride peaks have been described, and may be particularly valuable for application to online systems (Grob and Kalin 1991). 

Molecular Weight EPA Method 3 is used to determine carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations and dry molecular weight of the stack-gas stream. Depending on the intended use of the data, these values can be obtained with an integrated sample (see Fig. 25-28) or a grab sample (see Fig. 25-29). In addition, the instrumental analyzer... 

The instrumentation of HdC, including a pump, an injector, a column (set), a detector, and a recorder or computer, is very similar to size exclusion chromatography SEC). The essence of this technique is the column. There are two types of HdC columns open microcapillary tubes and a nonporous gel-packed column. This chapter emphasizes column technology and selection and the applications of this technique on the molecular weight analysis of macromolecules. 

Compilations of Reference Spectra There are several compilations of reference mass spectra available of which the oldest is the American Petroleum Institute (Ref 82) collection of spectra obtained mostiy on the older type instruments. Recent collections index spectra variously, eg, under reference number (Ref 19). molecular weight (Refs 12 19), molecular formula (Ref 19), fragment ion values (Ref 19), and base peak (Refs 12 19). A quarterly journal, Archives of Mass Spectral Data ... 

The most widely used molecular weight characterization method has been GPC, which separates compounds based on hydrodynamic volume. State-of-the-art GPC instruments are equipped with a concentration detector (e.g., differential refractometer, UV, and/or IR) in combination with viscosity or light scattering. A viscosity detector provides in-line solution viscosity data at each elution volume, which in combination with a concentration measurement can be converted to specific viscosity. Since the polymer concentration at each elution volume is quite dilute, the specific viscosity is considered a reasonable approximation for the dilute solution s intrinsic viscosity. The plot of log[r]]M versus elution volume (where [) ] is the intrinsic viscosity) provides a universal calibration curve from which absolute molecular weights of a variety of polymers can be obtained. Unfortunately, many reported analyses for phenolic oligomers and resins are simply based on polystyrene standards and only provide relative molecular weights instead of absolute numbers. 

The mass spectrum produced should provide unambiguous molecular weight information from the wide range of compounds amenable to analysis by HPLC, including biomolecules with molecular weights in excess of 1000 Da. The study of these types of molecule by mass spectrometry may be subject to limitations associated with their ionization and detection and the mass range of the instrument being used. 

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