Determination of the molecular weight

Gel permeation chromatography  (GPC)
DMAc (Agilent 1260 Infinity II)​​
For molecular weight characterizations of polymers, we have four different GPC systems available, suitable for the determination of different sizes of macromolecules. These systems differ mainly in terms of the separable molecular weight range and the separability of polymers of different polarities. Oli, Poly and Salt GPC from Waters are using THF as eluent system and consist of a Waters 515 HPLC pump, a Waters 2707 autosampler unit and a Waters 2414 refractive index detector. ... more

Bruker Autoflex maX MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometer​
Bruker's Maldi-ToF Autoflex maX can be used for polymer molecular weight determination, polymer end group analysis, and small protein/peptide sequencing studies. Both positive and negative ions can be detected. Reflectron mode provides enhanced resolution up to m/z 10 kDa for small molecules. Linear mode is used for larger molecules and offers lower resolution but higher sensitivity for larger polymers and proteins up to m/z 100 kDa.

Viscosimetry​
​The iVIsc capillary viscosimeter LMV 830 Lauda is an Ubbelohde viscosimeter which allows for the determination of the dynamic, kinematic and relative viscosity of liquid samples in the temperature range from –20 °C up to 150 °C and a viscosity range from 0.3 to 30000 mm2/s. The time measuring range is limited to a maximum of 9999.99 s (resolution: 0.01 s, error: 1 ppm). The determination of the viscosity is based on the measurement of the flow velocity of the liquid sample in the capillary. In addition, the molecular weight of polymers can also be determined (viscosity average molar mass Mη).