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Chemistry

How Osmotic Pressure Measurements Determine Molar Masses of Macromolecules

Quick fact

Osmotic pressure is the only colligative property that yields a measureable signal for macromolecules at low concentrations, making it the method of choice for determining the molar mass of proteins, nucleic acids, and synthetic polymers with molar masses up to about 10^5 g/mol.

Why this is interesting

You know that salt melts ice and antifreeze raises the boiling point of engine coolant, but did you know that the same principles can be used to weigh a single protein?