CONCENTRATION DISTRIBUTIONS IN FREE ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS

The effect of electrophoretic migration on the concentration distributions in free zone electrophoresis is evaluated using a non-diffusional model. It is shown that sample constituents that have a mobility higher than that of the carrier constituent migrate with a concentration distribution that is diffuse at the front and sharp at the rear of the zone. The reverse holds for sample constituents that have a mobility lower than that or the carrier constituent. The conditions at which diffusional and migrational dispersion are of the same order of magnitude are discussed. It is shown that by a proper choice of operational conditions the adverse effect of a relatively large sample width can be reduced. Problems concerning retention behaviour and separability are discussed. © 1979.