Efficient Separation of Long Polymer Chains by Contour Length and Architecture

On the basis of theoretical considerations and computer experiment, we suggest a new technique for separation of polymer molecules. The method is based on filling an array of nanochannels with macromolecules whereby the subsequent ejection time depends strongly on small differences in the end-to-end distances of elongated configurations inside the nanotubes. In contrast to conventional methods for chromatographic separation, the efficiency of the proposed method increases with growing molecular length of the chains. The method appears promising also for the separation of ring from linear polymer chains.