title: Equilibrium gradient methods with nonlinear field intensity gradient: a theoretical approach.
abstract: Equilibrium gradient methods belong to a family of separation techniques in which analytes are forced to unique equilibrium points by a force gradient and a counter force along the separation pathway. The basic theory for equilibrium gradient methods where the force gradient is induced by a field gradient is developed in this paper. The results indicate that peak capacity can be dynamically improved by using a nonlinear field-intensity gradient in which the first section is steep, and the following section is shallow. Using electromobility focusing (EMF) as an example, a separation model is established. EMF is an equilibrium gradient method that uses an electric field intensity gradient to induce a force gradient on charged analytes, such as proteins, and a constant hydrodynamic flow as an opposing force. Equations relating operating parameters with separation performance are given. Although simulation results show that a peak capacity of over 10,000 is theoretically possible using a single channel in a separation time just under 2 months, if 100 parallel separation units are utilized in an array format under the same operating conditions, the same peak capacity can be obtained in just over 12 h.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602-5700, USA. tolley@byu.edu
authors.forename: H Dennis
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Tolley
authors.forename: Qinggang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: LeFebre
authors.forename: Milton L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lee