Journal of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Gel permeation chromatography, mentioned as gel filtration chromatography or size exclusion chromatography, entails the chromatographic fractionation of macromolecules consistent with molecular size. The technique is usually used for the analysis of polymers, proteins, fats, and sugars from relatively low relative molecular mass compounds like pesticides in animal and plant matrices. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) enables the relative molecular mass distribution of a polymer sample to be determined in two or three hours. This review describes the essentials of the techniques and its history and its relevance to polymer technology. Apparatus for GPC is additionally described with greatest emphasis being given to apparatus almost like that commercially available from Waters Associates Inc. the issues related to chromatogram interpretation, instrumental broadening and calibration are discussed.