Applying Leonardo’s legacy for better Size Exclusion Chromatography

In his blogs; ‘Why has laser diffraction endured?’ and ‘Evolution of particle sizing techniques’, my colleague Paul Kippax found himself wondering what Leonardo da Vinci would have thought of laser diffraction. Well, as he was someone who firmly believed that to truly understand something under observation it is important to investigate it from multiple perspectives, I feel da Vinci would have also approved of the idea of multi-detection Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC).

Our work here at Malvern really does rely heavily and reflect and build upon, many of the great man’s ideas.

Leonardo’s legacy

Leonardo analyzed the world in terms of the way things functioned. He sought out underlying order, beyond superficial observation, by exploring the boundaries of what was then the new science of perspective. His work is considered by many to be the foundation of scientific method.

Multi-detection delivers more detail

Malvern’s multi-detection approach to SEC enables measurements from multiple perspectives, which can then be compared and used to enhance and validate the observer’s overall understanding of the molecules under study.

By combining light scattering, refractive index (RI), intrinsic viscosity, and even ultra-violet (UV) detection in a single measurement, the Malvern Viscotek method of SEC provides a lot more data about the macromolecules under investigation. Ultimately, this information provides a molecular weight distribution, and even provides structural information; a simple, yet practical technique for analyzing complex macromolecules such as synthetic polymers, polysaccharides and proteins.

Visions of Leonardo da Vinci presenting Malvern with an A*!