Polymers and Analysis

[Roxanne42]

Am I right in thinking that it's generally not a good idea to inject polymers on a GC/GC-MS column? Wouldn't it clog the syringe/injector/column?

And wouldn't the same problems arise from analyzing them by LC?

Obviously, when I say "polymers", I mean a considerate MW - any specific threshold to watch for?


Thanks again!

Roxanne.

[sassman]

In general that is correct. A large polymer will definitely not make it through a GC column. Depending on it's hydrophobicity and molecular size, it may or may not pass through a HPLC column. Polymers are traditionally analyzed using Gel Permeation Chromatography.

What kind of information are you trying to gather? If you are interested in impurities, then GC or HPLC might be the method of choice after some cleanup of the sample to remove the polymer and keep the impurities. If you want molecular weight distribution, then GPC would be the way to go. For structural information, you could use NMR or some spectroscopic techniques.