Determination of molecular weight of polyethylene glycol using size-exclusion chromatography with multi-angle laser light scattering and acid-base titration

Size-exclusion chromatography with multi-angle laser light scattering (SEC-MALLS) and acid-base titration were used to determine the molecular weight of a polyethylene glycol with low molecular weight. All potential uncertainty factors for each measurement were evaluated using cause-effect diagrams. Weight analysis was applied to harmonize the two different measurement results. It was found that the main uncertainty sources of SEC-MALLS measurement arose from the dn/dc value, the calibration constant of the differential refractive index (DRI) detector, and the intermediate precision of the instrument, while the sample mass, the titration volume and the concentration of titrant contributed to the uncertainty of titration measurement. The weighted mean value of the two measurement results was taken as the molecular weight of the polyethylene glycol.