Static light scattering is a technique in physical chemistry that measures the intensity of the scattered light to obtain the average molecular weight M of a macromolecule like a polymer or a protein in solution. Measurement of the scattering intensity at many angles allows calculation of the root mean square radius, also called the radius of gyration R. By measuring the scattering intensity for many samples of various concentrations, the second virial coefficient, A, can be calculated.
Static light scattering is also commonly utilized to determine the size of particle suspensions in the sub-μm and supra-μm ranges, via the Lorenz-Mie (see Mie scattering) and Fraunhofer diffraction formalisms, respectively.
For static light scattering experiments, a high-intensity monochromatic light, usually a laser, is launched into a solution containing the macromolecules. One or many detectors are used to measure the scattering intensity at one or many angles. The angular dependence is required to obtain accurate measurements of both molar mass and size for all macromolecules of radius above 1–2% of the incident wavelength. Hence simultaneous measurements at several angles relative to the direction of the incident light, known as multi-angle light scattering (MALS) or multi-angle laser light scattering (MALLS), are generally regarded as the standard implementation of static light scattering. Additional details on the history and theory of MALS may be found in multi-angle light scattering.
To measure the average molecular weight directly without calibration from the light scattering intensity, the laser intensity, the quantum efficiency of the detector, and the full scattering volume and solid angle of the detector need to be known. Since this is impractical, all commercial instruments are calibrated using a strong, known scatterer like toluene since the Rayleigh ratio of toluene and a few other solvents were measured using an absolute light scattering instrument.