Typically, low molecular weight proteins are displaced by high molecular weight protein while the opposite, high molecular weight being displaced by low molecular weight, does not occur. A typical example of this occurs when fibrinogen displaces earlier adsorbed proteins on a biopolymer surface and is later replaced by high molecular weight kininogen.
Normally, smaller protein molecules are ousted by larger ones; however, the reverse situation rarely occurs. An example can be observed in the displacement of early adsorbed proteins from a polymer surface by fibrinogen, which is subsequently displaced by higher molecular weight kininogen.