THE ANALYTICAL ULTRACENTRIFUGE SPINS AGAIN

Since its inception by T. Svedberg and co-workers in the 1920's the technique of analytical ultracentrifugation has undergone an extraordinary evolution, peaking in popularity in the 1950's and 1960's followed by a steady decline until the last few years with a renewal of interest culminating in the launch of a new commercially available instrument. The technique is worthy of consideration by any analytical chemist interested in the characterisation of the physical behaviour of macromolecules in solution. This article attempts to indicate the breadth of the range of different types of measurements on both bio- and synthetic macromolecular systems that are now possible with the analytical ultracentrifuge.