Data handling in g.p.c. for routine operations

The main points of importance in g.p.c. for routine operation are discussed. Concerning reproductibility, the major problem is the elution volume control, several methods are compared; the influence of number and precision of detector signal measurements are presented. For calibration, working with THF as the eluant, the use of narrow fraction polystyrene standards is a necessary primary step. It furnishes, by classical summations, number and weight average molecular weights in equivalent polystyrenes; these values are already useful in sample characterization. In estimating true molecular weights, the simplest method is use of the Benoit factor and some practical applications are given. A simple method for taking axial dispersion into account is proposed where the spreading function is not Gaussian.