Micro-channel thermal field-flow fractionation: New challenge in analysis of macromolecules and particles

The operational variables in Thermal Field-Flow Fractionation (TFFF) and the parameters of the separation channel were studied theoretically and experimentally in order to optimize the design of the channel. As a result, a new micro-channel, which allows high-performance separations under carefully chosen experimental conditions, was conceived and built up. This new micro-(mu)-TFFF becomes highly competitive compared with microcolumn chromatography of macromolecules in the range of molar masses up to roughly one million g/mole. However, the versatility of mu-TFFF is superior over the column chromatographic methods due to its capacity to fractionate the macromolecules of ultra-high molar masses, and even the colloidal particles. Although this work concerns, exclusively, the mu-TFFF, the miniaturization of the separation channel can generally be applied to other FFF methods as well.