Direct Observations of Polymer Molecules and Determination of their Molecular Weight

1966 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-580
Author(s):  
M. J. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
Dilute Solution ◽  
Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Polymer Molecules ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Preferential Evaporation ◽  
Poor Solvent

Abstract An experimental investigation of the conditions necessary for the production of compact, single polymer molecules, in a form suitable for direct observation in the electron microscope, is described. Molecules are isolated by dispersing a dilute solution of the polymer as fine droplets on to a suitable substrate: ideally each droplet should contain either one or no polymer molecules. The solution is a mixture of two solvents, a good one and a poor one. Initially the good solvent predominates so that the probability of polymer aggregation is low. Preferential evaporation of the relatively volatile solvent on the substrate itself gives the poor solvent conditions needed for the formation of well-defined molecular spheres. Factors determining the choice of solvent, precipitant, and the composition of the mixture are discussed. There is little difficulty in obtaining single molecules with glassy amorphous polymers; rubbery polymers collapse and spherical molecules are formed only if the entire preparation is carried out at a temperature below that of the glass transition; crystalline polymers are not amenable to this technique. To obtain sufficient contrast the particles have to be shadowed and it is shown that, although certain dimensions are distorted by the metal coating, the shadow length faithfully represents the true particle diameter. Molecular weights, and their distribution, when of the order of a million and above, can readily be accurately determined. Conventional methods are unreliable in this region of high molecular weight.

The direct observation of polymer molecules and determination of their molecular weight

1964 ◽  
Vol 279 (1376) ◽  
pp. 50-61 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Direct Observation ◽  
Particle Diameter ◽  
Dilute Solution ◽  
Crystalline Polymers ◽  
Polymer Molecules ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Preferential Evaporation ◽  
Poor Solvent

An experimental investigation of the conditions necessary for the production of compact, single polymer molecules, in a form suitable for direct observation in the electron microscope, is described. Molecules are isolated by dispersing a dilute solution of the polymer as fine droplets on to a suitable substrate: ideally each droplet should contain either one or no polymer molecules. The solution is a mixture of two solvents, a good one and a poor one. Initially the good solvent predominates so that the probability of polymer aggregation is low. Preferential evaporation of the relatively volatile solvent on the substrate itself gives the poor solvent conditions needed for the formation of well-defined molecular spheres. Factors determining the choice of solvent, precipitant, and the composition of the mixture are discussed. There is little difficulty in obtaining single molecules with glassy amorphus polymers; rubbery polymers collapse and spherical molecules are formed only if the entire preparation is carried out at a temperature below that of the glass transition; crystalline polymers are not amenable to this technique. To obtain sufficient contrast the particles have to be shadowed and it is shown that, although certain dimensions are distorted by the metal coating, the shadow length faithfully represents the true particle diameter. Molecular weights, and their distribution, when of the order of a million and above, can readily be accurately determined. Conventional methods are unreliable in this region of high molecular weight.

Determination of the molecular weight of proteins in solution from a single small-angle X-ray scattering measurement on a relative scale

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Fischer ◽  
M. de Oliveira Neto ◽  
H. B. Napolitano ◽  
I. Polikarpov ◽  
A. F. Craievich
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Small Angle ◽  
Dilute Solution ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Saxs Curve ◽  
Relative Scale ◽  
Ray Scattering

This paper describes a new and simple method to determine the molecular weight of proteins in dilute solution, with an error smaller than ∼10%, by using the experimental data of a single small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) curve measured on a relative scale. This procedure does not require the measurement of SAXS intensity on an absolute scale and does not involve a comparison with another SAXS curve determined from a known standard protein. The proposed procedure can be applied to monodisperse systems of proteins in dilute solution, either in monomeric or multimeric state, and it has been successfully tested on SAXS data experimentally determined for proteins with known molecular weights. It is shown here that the molecular weights determined by this procedure deviate from the known values by less than 10% in each case and the average error for the test set of 21 proteins was 5.3%. Importantly, this method allows for an unambiguous determination of the multimeric state of proteins with known molecular weights.

EFFECTS OF FRESH PLASMA OR WHOLE BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS ON PATIENTS WITH VARIOUS TYPES OF MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 688-692
Author(s):  
Anatole S. Dekaban ◽  
Kenton R. Holden ◽  
George Constantopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Weight Distribution ◽  
Whole Blood ◽  
Blood Transfusions ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
The Third ◽  
Clinical Observations ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Fresh Plasma

Repeated fresh plasma or whole blood transfusions were given to five patients with either Hurler, Hunter, or Sanfilippo types of mucopolysaccharidosis. Clinical observations and total 24-hour urinary AMPS and their composition and molecular weight distribution were determined before, during, and after transfusions. The two patients who received plasma transfusions showed no noticeable change in the amount of AMPS excreted; of the three patients who received whole blood transfusions, two had slightly less excretion of AMPS while the third showed no difference. The AMPS in the CSF were measured in one patient before and after blood transfusions and found to be unchanged; likewise, the determination of molecular weights in the isolated AMPS was virtually identical. In the patients studied, the transfusions caused no demonstrable difference in the patients' clinical condition.

Molecular Weights and Intrinsic Viscosities of Polyisobutylenes

1943 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 493-508
Author(s):  
Paul J. Flory
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Intrinsic Viscosity ◽  
Average Molecular Weight ◽  
Chain Structure ◽  
Molecular Weight Range ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Satisfactory Precision ◽  
Heterogeneous Polymers ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Experimental methods for fractionating polyisobutylene and for determining osmotic pressures have been described. The ratio π/c of osmotic pressure to concentration has been found in the case of cyclohexane solutions of polyisobutylene to vary nonlinearly with concentration, contrary to recent theories advanced by Huggins and the writer. The slope of this relationship appears to be independent of molecular weight. Reliable methods for extrapolating π/c to c=0 have been established, enabling the determination of absolute molecular weights with satisfactory precision up to values of about 1,000,000. Molecular weights of polyisobutylenes calculated from Staudinger's equation are too low; the discrepancy is more than ten-fold at high molecular weights. On the basis of data for carefully fractionated samples covering a two-hundred-fold molecular weight range, the intrinsic viscosity is found to be proportional to the 0.64 power of the molecular weight. This decided deviation from Staudinger's “law”cannot in this instance be attributed to nonlinear chain structure, as Staudinger has sought to do in other cases. This dependence of molecular weight on intrinsic viscosity leads to the definition of a “viscosity average”molecular weight which is obtained when the relationship is applied to heterogeneous polymers. The viscosity average is less than the weight average molecular weight, which would be obtained if Staudinger's equation were applicable, and greater than the number average obtained by osmotic or cryoscopic methods.

THE VISCOSITY – MOLECULAR WEIGHT RELATION FOR POLY-levo-2,3-BUTANEDIYL o-PHTHALATE

1948 ◽  
Vol 26b (12) ◽  
pp. 783-797
Author(s):  
R. W. Watson ◽  
N. H. Grace
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
High Purity ◽  
Molecular Orientation ◽  
Degree Of Polymerization ◽  
Solution Viscosity ◽  
Dilute Solution ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Complex Relation ◽  
End Group ◽  
Long Chain

The inherent viscosities of dilute solutions of acidic polyesters of high purity have been compared with number average molecular weights accurately determined by end-group titration. For unfractionated resins with a degree of polymerization from 2 to 11 [Formula: see text] the viscosity – molecular weight relation is linear in chloroform at 25 °C. Where [Formula: see text], K = 1.923 × 10−5 and β = 0.0176. For fractionated polyesters from DP 5 to 8, K = 1.959 × 10−6 and β = 0.0161. For unfractionated resins with a DP > 11, molecular weights increase more rapidly than inherent viscosities. Above [Formula: see text] for fractionated resins linearity is resumed, and the slope increases. Several attempts have been made to explain this complex relation. Apparently the short chains remain linear, and the formation of anisotropic fibers at a DP close to 100 establishes a degree of molecular orientation in the long-chain superpolyesters. Isomerization of levo-diol to the diastereoisomer during polycondensation is without effect on the dilute solution viscosity of the resulting resin. Preferential degradation of the longer chains is assumed to be partially responsible for the decreasing slope from DP 11 to 65. As yet it has not been possible to assess the roles played by changes in size distribution, and variation in solvation with increasing chain length, but the data point to a curved viscosity – molecular weight relation in chloroform at 25 °C.

Measurement of the Isothermal Volume Dilation Accompanying the Unilateral Extension of Rubber

1959 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 428-433
Author(s):  
Fred G. Hewitt ◽  
Robert L. Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Young’S Modulus ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Rubber Specimen ◽  
A Value ◽  
Fractional Increase ◽  
Internal Agreement ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract The fractional increase in volume accompanying the isothermal extension of soft gum rubber was measured for four rubber samples at mean extensions of 14, 33, and 51%. The chain molecular weights Mc of the four samples were 5500, 5100, 4400, and 3000, with an estimated uncertainty of about 10% in each value of Mc. The observed fractional increase in volume ranged from 3.2×10−5 to 142×10−5, the latter value being observed for the sample of lowest chain molecular weight and at the extension of 51%. The experimental results for each sample have been represented by theoretical curves based on Gee's expression for the fractional increase in volume as a function of the sample extension. The theoretical curves exhibit good agreement with those of Gee, Stern, and Treloar. The process of fitting the theoretical curves to the experimental points constituted a determination of Young's modulus E for each rubber specimen. As a check on the experimental results, and also on the theory employed, determinations of E were also made by two additional methods, namely, from rough stess-strain curves, and from the relation E=3γρRT/Mc. With one exception, the internal agreement between the three determinations of E for the four different samples was satisfactory. The exception noted can probably be ascribed to the use of too small a value of Mc for the sample of lowest chain molecular weight.

Molecular Weight Effects in Adsorption of Rubbers on Carbon Black

1968 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1256-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Kraus ◽  
J. T. Gruver
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Carbon Black ◽  
Large Particle ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Molecular Weight Dependence ◽  
Bound Rubber ◽  
Sieve Effect ◽  
High Structure ◽  
Very High ◽  
Poor Solvent

Abstract The molecular weight dependence of the adsorption of polybutadiene on carbon black from a poor solvent, n-heptane, and bulk, i.e., the phenomenon of “bound rubber”, was investigated. For narrow distribution polymers the adsorption is proportional to Mn, where n = 0.14 for adsorption from n-heptane solution; n = 0.5 for adsorption from bulk. Anomalously low solution adsorption was observed for polymers of very high molecular weight (> 500,000). This is ascribed to a sieve effect by aggregates of carbon black particles which cannot be penetrated by the large molecular coils. In high structure blacks, which pack more loosely, and in large particle blacks, which form larger interstices between particles, onset of anomalous adsorption is shifted toward higher molecular weights.

Chromatographic Fractionation of Some Synthetic Elastomers

1948 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 682-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Landler
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Cellulose Acetate ◽  
Active Carbon ◽  
Low Molecular Weight ◽  
High Polymer ◽  
Acrylonitrile Copolymer ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Molecular Weight ◽  
Poor Solvent

Abstract Mark and Saito were the first to fractionate a high polymer (cellulose acetate) by chromatographic adsorption on blood carbon. They found that molecules of low molecular weight were adsorbed first, and that the mean molecular weight of the product which remained unadsorbed was higher than the original molecular weight. Levi and Giera confirmed this result, but did not succeed in fractionating Buna-S or polyisoprene, for these polymers were eluted by the solvent during the washing operation in the column. The present authors have carried out further experiments in this field with a study of three commercial synthetic elastomers, viz., GR-S (butadienestyrene copolymer), Perbunan-N (butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer), and Visitanex (polyisobutylene). The polymer was adsorbed by starting with a poor solvent composed of a mixture of toluene and methanol ; the quantity of alcohol added was just below the threshold of precipitation. The adsorbent used was a mixture of 75 per cent of lamp black (80 square meters per gram) and 25 per cent of coarse active carbon. The latter served to prevent agglomeration of the lamp black. The adsorbent was divided into three layers, of 10 grams each. At the end of the tube was a filter of fritted glass. Filtration was carried out under pressure, the rate of flow thereby being maintained constant, The polymers were characterized by their intrinsic viscosities. The molecular weights which were estimated by means of the relation, found experimentally between the molecular weight and viscosity, are only approximate, for this relation holds true only for narrow fractions.

Determination of Copolymer Molecular Weight

1968 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Rempp ◽  
Henri Benoit
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Light Scattering ◽  
Density Gradient ◽  
Compositional Heterogeneity ◽  
Precise Information ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Molecular Weight Distributions ◽  
Weight Distributions ◽  
Binary Copolymers

Abstract From this brief review it appears that determinations of molecular weight averages, of molecular weight distributions, and of compositional inhomogeneity of binary copolymers, require care in the choice of techniques and methods. Some of the most commonly used techniques for molecular weight determinations on homopolymers of various kinds are inadequate for the same determinations on copolymers. Others are more sensitive to fluctuations in composition than in molecular weights. Osmotic methods are the only one which are really insensitive to inhomogeneity, and which yield molecular weights. Ultracentrifugation in a density gradient yields precise information only on fluctuations in composition. Viscosity determinations require calibration, but even so, they may lead to erroneous values of the molecular weight in the case of copolymers. GPC is less sensitive to compositional heterogeneity, but cannot be applied for nonlinear copolymers. Finally, light scattering is a very powerful tool for studies on copolymers, since it leads to molecular weight averages and its helps characterize polydispersity and fluctuations in composition.

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