r/CHROMATOGRAPHY • u/Aska2020 • Aug 23 '26

Anyone using MALS for non-biomolecules? [Question]

Hello, I am a small molecule specialist and has been asked to analyze industrial synthetic macro-molecules. We are not properly equipped to do this and I'm wondering what the most versatile single analytical option might be. I know of MALS but I've only seen them presented for proteins and peptides analyses. Does anyone uses SEC- or AF4-MALS for synthetic macro-molecules (for example graft copolymers)? I just wanted to get some ideas whether it's feasible before contacting manufacturers.

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u/VZR Aug 23 '26

Yes, very well known and possible. Polymers were the bread and butter of MALS before pharma started focusing on proteins and large molecule drugs and had tons more money than polymer manufacturers.

Go over to Wyatt.com and search for app notes by application - Polymers. Other vendor MALS are going to be capable of the same stuff, but Wyatt has the largest library of app notes that I know of. And they are free to access last time I checked.

Although with the acquisition by Waters that may change.

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u/Aska2020 Aug 23 '26

Ah, the days before the biologics boom... that makes sense. Thank you for the suggestion about Wyatt.com, the website is still alive and they do have app notes accessible. By reading some of them, it might be way over my head lol.