Mass Transfer of Proteins in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction is known to be a gentle separation technique for biochemical molecules where product partitioning is fast. However, the reason for the high mass transfer rates has not been investigated, yet. Many researchers claim that the low interfacial tension facilitates the formati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 3692
Main Authors: Kaplanow, I., Goerzgen, F., Merz, J., Schembecker, G.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06-03-2019
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction is known to be a gentle separation technique for biochemical molecules where product partitioning is fast. However, the reason for the high mass transfer rates has not been investigated, yet. Many researchers claim that the low interfacial tension facilitates the formation of very small droplets and with it a large interfacial area causing a fast partitioning. However, an experimental evidence for this hypothesis has not been published yet. In this study, the mass transfer coefficients of two proteins, namely lysozyme and bromelain, were determined by providing a defined interfacial area for partitioning. Compared to low molecular weight solutes the mass transfer coefficient for the proteins investigated was small proving for the first time that the large interfacial area and not fast diffusion seems to be the reason for fast protein partitioning.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-39797-9