Application of Number Fluctuations to Molecular Weight Determinations

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Abstract
We propose a new approach for determining the molecular weights of very large macromolecules in solution, or particles in suspension, by means of number fluctuations. The time correlation function and the power spectrum of scattered light from a finite number of macromolecules (or particles), N, in a small scattering volume, V s, are derived for (a) a moving sample cell and (b) a moving slit, both with a constant linear velocity (υ). Either method improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the experiments concerning number fluctuations. Therefore, the mean number of particles (or macromolecules), <N>, in V s can be determined fairly rapidly.