COUNTERACTING FLOW ELECTROPHORESIS - A TECHNIQUE FOR SEPARATING BIOCHEMICALS OR CHARGED MACROMOLECULES

A method for fractionating solutions of charged biochemicals or macromolecules is described. The technique, entitled counteracting flow electrophoresis (CAFE), utilizes parallel electric and fluid flow fields applied within a porous solid barrier to accomplish a separation based on differences in the electrophoretic mobility of the dissolved molecules. A prototypical separation of hemoglobin from bovine serum albumin demonstrated the recovery of a 90+% pure protein with a 20% Yield. Improvements in both purity and yield are discussed in terms of barrier characteristics and the intensities of the electrical and flow fields. Barrier characteristics that strongly affect the separation are pore size and thickness.