Return to Size Exclusion Chromatography
The following procedure will not explain how to get a full viewing of Saturday NCAA southern college football. It will, however, let you get your polymers ready for analysis. Materials Required:
2 - 20 mL scintillation vials and teflon caps
1 - 10 mL syringe
1 - 0.2 mm pore syringe filter
toluene
dry, distilled THF*
Instructions:
Blow nitrogen into the vials to clean out any dust and debris (no, not french cheese) from the vials. Cap the vials and label both with your sample name.
Into the first vial, weigh out between 5 and 50 mg of your polymer. Try to stay close to an increase of 5 (i.e. 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, etc.) As 5 is a very special number. You will see why in a moment.
To the first vial, you must now add 1 mL of dried and freshly distilled THF* per 5 mg of your polymer (i.e., 2 mL THF* to 10 mg polymer). A graduated cylinder works well for this.
Finally, add 2 mL of toluene per 1 mL of dried and freashly distilled THF*. A gas chromotography needle works well for this. Re-cap the vial.
Allow your polymer to go into solution. This can take anywhere from a few seconds, to a few hours, to a few days.
When your polymer has solubilized, prepare the syringe. Remove the plunger prior to attaching the filter on the needle end of the syringe.
- *Dried and freshly distilled THF may only be obtained at your local SEC still
With the nozzle of the filter in the second (still empty) vial, pour the contents of the first vial into the syringe body. Re-insert the plunger and carefully push your polymer solution through the filter. If it does not flow, show your Teaching Assistant. Once filtered, cap the second vial. You are now ready to analyze your filtered polymer sample. It's just that easy!