Size Exclusion Chromatography (GPC/GFC)
Size-exclusion chromatography is a chromatographic method in which molecules in solution are separated by their size or by their molecular weight.
Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), also known as molecular sieve chromatography, is a chromatographic method in which molecules in solution are separated by their size, and in some cases molecular weight. It is usually applied to large molecules or macromolecular complexes such as proteins and industrial polymers. Typically, when an aqueous solution is used to transport the sample through the column, the technique is known as gel-filtration chromatography (GFC), versus the name gel permeation chromatography (GPC), which is used when an organic solvent is used as a mobile phase. SEC is a widely used polymer characterization method because of its ability to provide good molar mass distribution (Mw) results for polymers.
The main application of gel-filtration chromatography is the fractionation of proteins and other water-soluble polymers, while gel permeation chromatography is used to analyze the molecular weight distribution of organic-soluble polymers. Either technique should not be confused with gel electrophoresis, where an electric field is used to “pull” or “push” molecules through the gel depending on their electrical charges.
