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Streamlined GPC/SEC Solutions Unlock Vast Potential for Your Macromolecular Analyses

With newly added Polymer Standards Services (PSS) products, Agilent now offers the largest single-vendor solution for all your GPC/SEC analyses, from ambient to high-temperature and aqueous to organic, generating accurate, reliable data for macromolecular characterization. Instruments, columns, standards, and software with proven compatibility enable the smoothest execution of GPC/SEC workflows. If challenges arise, Agilent also offers tailored expert services. The sky’s the limit with the largest portfolio for your largest molecules—Agilent InfinityLab GPC/SEC Solutions.



Seamless Solutions for Any Macromolecular Analysis Needs

With the largest GPC/SEC portfolio, it is now easier than ever to simplify your macromolecular analyses with InfinityLab GPC/SEC Solutions. See what’s possible when each of your workflow components is designed to work together as a seamless solution. Find everything you need for your macromolecular characterization in this one brochure, from small accessories to expert services and everything in between.



Complete GPC/SEC Solutions

Systems

Find your ideal system in the comprehensive Agilent GPC/SEC instrument portfolio. Explore robust systems for synthetic polymer analyses, a dedicated bio-inert system for biopolymers, a system for high-temperature GPC, and special detectors like light scattering or viscometry.

Discover GPC/SEC systems

Software

Discover the GPC/SEC software that best fits your requirements. Agilent GPC/SEC Software for OpenLab CDS features a compliant, versatile software package for both HPLC and GPC/SEC, while WinGPC Software offers comprehensive macromolecular analysis as a standalone installation.

Get to know GPC/SEC software

Columns and Standards

Agilent provides a variety of different GPC/SEC columns and standards for high-resolution separation and accurate calibration of your polymer analysis. Many GPC/SEC columns and standards are available for both aqueous and organic macromolecular analyses to meet your needs.

Explore columns and standards

Services

Agilent is a reliable partner for our customers. Agilent CrossLab Services support and improve the performance of your laboratory. Analytical services provided by Agilent experts can help with GPC/SEC method development, macromolecular compound characterization, and more.

See our service offerings

Light Scattering Detection in SEC

Light scattering (LS)—static light scattering (SLS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS)—is a powerful and robust tool to obtain information about molar mass, size, and topology of any biological polymers. Following separation by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), size fractions can be measured individually, making a precise analysis of the respective sample possible.



Advanced Materials: Ambient and High-Temperature GPC

Agilent offers a complete portfolio of solutions for ambient and high-temperature GPC. We have over 45 years of industry-leading expertise for characterizing and separating polymers and macromolecules, including polyolefins such as polyethylene and propylene by gel permeation chromatography (GPC).


Biopharma: SEC Used in Critical Quality Attribute (CQA) Analyses

When analyzing biomolecules and monitoring their purity, potency, and other critical quality attributes (CQAs), size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is crucial. SEC can be used for the analysis of product-related impurities such as low molecular weight species, protein aggregation studies, or drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) determination of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). SEC performance for the determination and quantitation of aggregates and potential degradants is significantly increased via advanced light scattering (LS) detection.


Greener GPC/SEC Toward a More Sustainable Lab

For more sustainable GPC/SEC lab operations, analytical lab scientists must critically evaluate how results are generated and if the principles of green chemistry can be applied in their analyses. These considerations should focus on prevention of waste, using safer solvents and auxiliaries, and the use of renewable feedstocks. Have a look at how to implement these principles in the analytical laboratory.



GPC/SEC Frequently Asked Questions

GPC/SEC software can be used for two main tasks in GPC/SEC analyses: acquisition of GPC/SEC data as well as data analysis/calibration of the acquired data. All of this comprises data processing options, data storage, reporting, compliance, and scalability.

Sample preparation is important in GPC/SEC, especially for large molecules. To prepare a sample for analysis, it is first dissolved in an appropriate solvent, such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) for organic GPC or water-based buffers for aqueous SEC. Since the separation obtained depends on the size of the sample molecules, it is important that they are allowed to swell and then fully dissolve in the solvent before being put through the chromatograph, which may take up to 12–24 hours. Where possible, the eluent used to prepare the samples should be the same as the solvent running through the system. Sample concentration employed during analysis depends on the molecular weight and the viscosity of the sample under investigation. Autosamplers, sometimes with heaters and filters to dissolve and clean the sample, reduce the work involved if many samples are needed or when the sample volume is large.

GPC/SEC separates molecules based on their size, hence ‘size exclusion’. GPC/SEC is used to determine the molecular weight distributions of polymers.

The terms gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) are used to describe the same chromatography process with the different acronyms being used by different industries. But, generally speaking, when analysts discuss GPC and SEC, they are referring to the same type of chromatographic analysis. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) prefer the term SEC for experiments of this type, but GPC is still in common use.

There are many natural polymers from plants and animals, such as rubber, polysaccharides, starch, cellulose, and glycogen. Proteins, nucleic acids, and other compound organic large molecules of biological origin or produced in biopharmaceutical laboratories can also be thought of as polymers. These polymers are mostly referred to as biological polymers rather than artificial ones created in the chemical industry.

Polymers are molecules composed of many repeating units joined together. The term is derived from the Greek words polloi (many) and meros (parts). The chemical basis for the formation of polymers is the ability of the single, or ‘monomer’, units to form long chains. Many molecules can do this, leading to the development of many different types of manmade polymers. The chemical reaction when polymers join together is called polymerization. Take, for example, polyethylene—made up of repeating units of ethylene (C2H4)n, where n can be a very large number. The interesting thing about polymers is that the length of the molecular chains can be shorter or longer and the compound will still be recognizable as the same polymer. In practice, a sample of polymer will contain a distribution of molecules of different lengths.

Plastics, such as those used to make polyethylene bags, polystyrene foam cups, and polypropylene drain pipes, are made by linking monomers together to form chains. Many of the useful properties of plastics, such as mechanical strength and elasticity, come from the intertwining of these long molecular chains. Generally, the longer the chains, the more intertwined they are, and the harder and tougher the material will be. So, depending on the chain lengths in a sample of polyethylene, the material could be a liquid, a wax, or a rigid solid, with its physical state obviously having a major impact on how it is used. In this case, the chemistry of these materials is the same—they’re all polyethylene—it’s just the physical state of the materials that differs. Furthermore, all synthetic polymers contain a distribution of polymer chain lengths. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) / size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is a technique that allows you to separate out the different lengths of polymer chain in a sample and measure their relative abundance.

Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) can separate molecules based on their size. Being able to derive the molecular weight from this data requires a calibration of the GPC/SEC system with standard polymers of known weight.

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) can be used for measuring the chain lengths and other characteristics of polymers/macromolecules by separating them based on their size. To determine the molecular weights of the components of a polymer sample, a calibration with standard polymers of known weight must be performed. Values from the unknown sample are then compared with the calibration graph to generate molecular weight distribution and molecular weight averages.

Data evaluation and interpretation in gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) differ from classic high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) software workflows. Agilent offers two choices for these analyses: the feature leading standalone WinGPC Software or the GPC/SEC Software for OpenLab CDS. The latter being an add-on for the chromatography data system, which adds specific calibrations and calculations for GPC/SEC to data acquired with OpenLab CDS. WinGPC Software supports a huge variety of specialized GPC/SEC workflows like light scattering and viscosity calculations, 2D-GPC/SEC capabilities, or mass spectrometry data calculations with different modules available to tailor the software to the user’s needs. Both types of software are compatible with workstations as well as client/server solutions.

The terms gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) are used to describe the same chromatography process with the different acronyms being used by different industries. But, generally speaking, when analysts discuss GPC and SEC they are referring to the same type of chromatographic analysis. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists (IUPAC) prefer the term SEC for experiments of this type, but GPC is still in common use.

A chromatograph must accomplish various tasks, including mixing a sample with the solvent, pumping it through the column, detecting the sample fractions, and capturing and displaying the results.

Parameters of the chromatographic run that will increase the resolution in size exclusion chromatography (SEC) are the sample volume, the flow rate of the mobile phase, and the type of column. Column length (single column or a serial combination of the same type) and particle pore size of the packed stationary phase impact resolution in SEC.

There are several names given to different types of size exclusion chromatography (SEC), but all are based on the same principle, that of size exclusion, hence size exclusion chromatography. Historically the porous medium was made of a gel and therefore gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was coined, a term still prevalent in the industry today. Low pressure analysis of biological compounds is often referred to as gel filtration chromatography (GFC). For our purposes, SEC and GPC refer to the same instrumentation and column technology.

There are several names given to different types of size exclusion chromatography (SEC), but all are based on the same principle, that of size exclusion, hence size exclusion chromatography. Historically the porous
medium was made of a gel and therefore gel permeation chromatography (GPC) was coined, a term still prevalent in the industry today. Low pressure analysis of biological compounds is often referred to as gel filtration chromatography (GFC). For our purposes, SEC and GPC refer to the same instrumentation and column
technology.

Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) / size exclusion chromatography (SEC) combined with (static) light scattering (LS) is an excellent technique for measuring absolute molecular weights of samples and does not require any column calibration. Static light scattering (SLS) is a technique in which the time-averaged intensity of the scattered light is measured. As a result, it gives the average molecular weight of a macromolecule, such as a polymer or a protein in the analyzed solution. On the other hand, dynamic light scattering (DLS) employs the time-dependent measurement of the fluctuations in the scattered light intensity to determine the translational diffusion coefficients of the analytes (for example, Brownian movements), which allow for the calculation of the particle size. Multi-angle light scattering (MALS) provides a more accurate and robust representation of the particle size distribution. It is a method in which the scattering light information (Mie scattering theory) combined with the particle size distribution analysis in an integrated method (PSD) allows for a more precise determination of the particle/molecular size.



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