Molecular weight

The molecular weight of proteins, synthetic and natural polymers is a direct indicator of product performance and activity.

Understanding molecular weight determination, absolute molecular weight measurement and other molecular parameters is key to controlling product performance in a wide variety of applications areas including:

• Strength, durability and toughness of plastics and other synthetic polymers.
• Degradation and release rate of drug delivery polymers.
• Performance and mouth-feel of polysaccharides in foods e.g. maltodextrin and other starch derivatives.
• Strength and quality of fillers and lubricants in pharmaceuticals and cosmaceuticals e.g. hyaluronic acid and cellulose derivatives.
• Efficacy and aggregation state of proteins and biopharmaceuticals e.g. monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).

Malvern Panalytical’s advanced GPC/SEC detectors, which include low angle and right angle light scattering (LALS and RALS) and multi-angle light scattering (SEC-MALS), are designed to measure absolute molecular weight with unparalleled accuracy. The OMNISEC system offers a complete stand-alone solution to measure molecular weight, and the OMNISEC REVEAL detector module can be used to upgrade an existing GPC/SEC system. The SEC-MALS 20 can be added to either of these solutions to add further capabilities to the solution.