Improvement in particle separation by hollow fiber flow field-flow fractionation and the potential use in obtaining particle size distribution

Particle separation in hollow fiber flow field-flow fractionation (HF- FIFFF) has been greatly improved by experimentation. Flow optimization and the use of an appropriate carrier solution allow for separation of particles by HF-FIFFF to reach nearly the level of separation efficiency normally achieved by a conventional flow FFF system. The retention ratio in HF-FIFFF is confirmed to R ≃ 4λ for a highly retained component. The effect of focusing/relaxation point and the theoretical considerations of particle retention in HF-FIFFF through experimentation are discussed. The current work attempts to measure the particle size distribution of a laboratory-prepared polydisperse polystyrene latex sample, and the resulting size distribution, show a reasonable agreement with that obtained by capillary hydrodynamic fractionation. The efforts made in this work could provide possibilities for an HF-FIFFF system that can be developed into a system using a disposable and inexpensive fiber (channel in flow FFF).