"Good value and excellent performance
is a combination that will warm the heart of any academic polymer scientist,"
said Professor Kenneth J Wynne of the Department of Chemical and Life Science
Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, when asked about his 11-year
use of Viscotek gel permeation chromatography (GPC) systems from Malvern
Instruments.
Professor Wynne's research team uses
the Viscotek TDAmax triple detection system to carry out routine GPC when
developing and applying novel surface modifications to polyurethanes and other
polymers.
Professor Kenneth J Wynne said, "The
Viscotek TDAmax is extremely valuable because in our work on polymers we
perform some syntheses which can lead to large molecules with two drastically
different structures. GPC is critical in delineating the amounts of each
structure and the Viscotek system we use employs quadruple detection that
includes refractive index (RI), light scattering at both 90 degrees and low
angle (LALS), and viscosity detectors. We use two fractionation columns in
series that are carefully selected to effect good separation for low molecular
weight species. Malvern supplies these columns too."
"When I came to Virginia Commonwealth
University to set up a new laboratory in polymer science more than a decade
ago, I contacted two instrument suppliers," explained Prof Wynne. "However,
right from the beginning the Viscotek system worked really well,we were given
an attractive offer, which was supported by a customer services department that
made it a priority to help a faculty that was just starting out.. It was
therefore an easy choice and one which I can look back on 11 years later with
the knowledge that it was the correct one."
Professor Wynne's research is supported
by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the VCU
School of Engineering Foundation. As well as research into coatings that resist
fouling in the marine environment, he and his research team work with very
unusual ‘soft blocks' called polyoxetanes. These modify the surface of
polyurethanes to produce antimicrobial coatings that kill bacteria on contact
without releasing toxins. The resulting polyurethane molecules can be used in
biomedical applications for wound care or in vivo medical devices.
For examples of publications
co-authored by Professor Wynne with other members of the Department of Chemical
and Life Science Engineering and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of
Medicine, visit:
http://www.egr.vcu.edu/clse/faculty-staff/wynne.html
For further information about the
Viscotek TDAmax, other multiple detection GPC systems, columns and accessories,
visit:
www.malvern.com/viscotek
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