Application of ionic liquid based aqueous two-phase systems in centrifugal partition chromatography
Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) is a powerful and versatile liquid-liquid separation technique, which shares the principle of extraction and chromatography. In CPC a multicomponent separation is realized owing to the solutes different partitioning between two liquid phases, whereas one of the phases is kept stationary by means of centrifugal force. Currently, the technology application in the field of biocomponents (e.g. proteins, nucleic acids, cells) is impeded due to the incompatibility of the physical properties of the conventional polymer/polymer or polymer/salt aqueous two-phase systems (high phase viscosity and low interfacial tension). In this project we want to study the applicability of a new recently introduced type of aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS), formed by combining a hydrophilic ionic liquid, an inorganic salt and water. The first evaluation of ionic liquid based ATPSs have shown that the phase splitting occurs faster than in polymer based ATPS and the IL-rich phase has a lower viscosity than the polymer-rich phase. Moreover the main features of the ionic liquid, i.e. versatility of anion and cation combinations, can be used to tune the partition coefficient of the proteins in the mixture as well as the physical properties of the biphasic ionic liquid. To prove the whole concept, separations of model mixtures of proteins using ionic liquid based ATPSs will be carried out in a preparative Centrifugal Partition Chromatographic unit.
Research funded by:
Anwendung eines wässrigen Zweiphasensystems in der Zentrifugalen-Verteilungs-chromatographie