Influence of buoyancy-driven convection on protein separation by free-flow electrophoresis.
In free-flow electrophoresis, the stability and reproducibility of the flow field are prerequisites for a satisfactory separation.  Due to the presence of the species to be separated and due to mass- and heat-transfer phenomena, non-uniformities in density inevitably appear, both within the carrier buffer and between the carrier buffer and the sample stream.  On earth they give rise to buoyancy-driven convection which interferes with the separation.  These effects have been quantified by numerical modelling.  Agreement has been found between the numerical results and experimental observations.
Clifton
M J
MJ
Laboratoire de Génie Chimique et Electrochimie, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.
Jouve
N
N
Sanchez
V
V
D001709:Biotechnology; D018481:Convection; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D013026:Space Flight; D014893:Weightlessness
D011506:Proteins