Size exclusion chromatography (SEC), also called gel filtration chromatography, gel permeation chromatography, or molecular sieve chromatography, is a common, efficient, and fast method that separates molecules according to their molecular sizes. SEC is an ideal solution for purifying and separating viruses, lipids, proteins, cellular components, and other high-molecular weight compounds. In addition, SEC can be used for the estimation of molecular mass using calibration standards or absolute methods or for sample clean up. In the SEC system, the stationary phase containing a porous packing material is placed in a column and the mobile phase containing the sample solution is injected into the stationary phase. The elution order typically follows molecular weight. Molecules with the highest molecular weight are eluted first because they are excluded from the pores, and smaller molecules take longer to elute because they can penetrate into the pores. When selecting a packaging material, the exclusion range must be larger than the molecular size of the molecules to be separated.
High-performance SEC columns rely on small and rigid porous particle materials, which can be classified as organic polymers and inorganic silica materials. In addition, SEC columns can be optimized in surface chemistry (nonspecific adsorption), specific resolution (pore size and volume), efficiency (particle size), and stability (mechanical, chemical or thermal stability). The packing of the column, particle size, column dimension, sample volume, and flow rate are critical parameters that affect the resolution of the separation. Amerigo Scientific offers a variety of cost-effective and reliable SEC columns with different selectivity for the purification and separation of biomolecules such as nucleic acids, peptides, proteins, and viruses.
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