Mechanistic Study of Electrical Field Flow Fractionation. 2. Effect of Sample Conductivity on Retention

Improved theory of cyclical electrical field flow fractionation

Previously reported theories for cyclical electrical field flow fractionation (CyElFFF) are severely limited in that they do not account for diffusion, steric, or electric double layer effects. Experiments have shown that these theories overpredict the retention of particles in CyElFFF. In this work, we present a model for prediction of steric, diffusion, and electrical effects. The electrical double layer effects are treated using a lumped electrical circuit model that accounts for the field shielding by the electrical double layer formed at the electrode-carrier interface. The electrical effects are shown to dominate retention times and outweigh the contributions of diffusion and particle size. Detailed results from the simulations are presented in this work, and a comparison between the theoretical and experimental results obtained from the retentions of polystyrene particle standards is presented in this paper. The models are shown to correctly predict the retention of the polystyrene standards in CyElFFF with a reasonable error, while existing models are shown to have significant failings.

Characterization of a microscale cyclical electrical field flow fractionation system

A microscale cyclical electrical field flow fractionation (CyElFFF) channel is characterized with regard to the effect of various operating parameters and comparison made to recent theoretical developments. Challenges associated with various operating conditions are reported along with some of the optimized operating parameters. The effect of retention wall choice, an offset voltage, relaxation steps, and flow rates, along with the basic operating parameters of voltage, frequency, and electrophoretic mobility are reported. Retention of polystyrene nanoparticle standards is accomplished and the first separations using this technique in a microscale system are also demonstrated. Relaxation steps and offset voltages are found to be effective in eliminating early peaks and in improving plate heights. Plate heights were also found to decrease with increasing flow rates, which is the opposite of the behavior seen in most existing chromatographic systems. The experimental results are compared to the analytical and empirical models of CyElFFF and found to be compatible. Suggestions are made for improving the separation and analysis methods used with CyElFFF.

The use of asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation in pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics

Field-flow fractionation (FFF) is a family of flexible analytical fractionating techniques which have the advantage that the separation of analytes is achieved, solely through the interaction of the sample with an external, perpendicular physical field, rather than by the interaction with a stationary phase. The rapid progress in pharmaceutical biotechnology goes along with an increasing demand in potent, high-efficient analytical methods. Thus, FFF techniques are gaining increasing attention for their ability to separate and characterize populations of polymers, colloids and particles of up to about 100 microm in size. It is the intention of this review to provide an overview on common FFF techniques, to summarize inherent advantages and limitations and to introduce both established and challenging applications in the (bio)pharmaceutical field. Thereby, asymmetrical flow FFF is addressed predominantly, since it is the most versatile applicable FFF technique.