Continuous-flow, support-free, electrophoretic separation in thin layers: towards large-scale operation

Abstract

The operation of continuous-flow, support-free electrophoretic separators of the Philpot thin-layer configuration ( i. e thin in the direction of electrophoretic migration) is modelled with the simplifying assumptions of: (i) solution properties uniform (except for electrophoretic mobility) and not affected by temperature; (ii)_zero thermal resistance of the seprator walls; (iii) plug flow; and (iv) diffusion as the only zone-broadening influence. It is shown for both adiabatically operated and cooled separators that the four main operational variables, viz. maximum temperatures, resolving power, processing rate and separator size, are in each case inseparably united in a single relationship. These relationships indicate on the one hand that certain separtions woulsd be impossible in apparatus of this sort because of the high temperatures that would necessarily be involved, while on the other that the processing capacity with permitted separations would be increased indefinitely by narrowing of the separator in the direction of electrophoretic migration. The significance of these finding for real, large-scale electrophoretic separators is discussed.