Apparatus to measure electrophoretic mobility of a flowing sample

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11714064-B2
Application number	US-202117235925-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2021
Priority date	Nov 6, 2014
Publication date	Aug 1, 2023
Grant date	Aug 1, 2023

Abstract

When measuring electrophoretic mobility it is customary to apply an electric field and determine the electrophoretic velocity while minimizing all other contributions to the particle movement. A method and apparatus for the measurement of mobility while the sample is flowing is disclosed. Combined with a fractionation system, this approach further enables the direct measurement of individual species' mobility within a multi-modal sample. Other advantages of this new mobility measurement approach include the ability to easily pressurize the sample to suppress electrolysis, mitigation of oxidation-reduction effects and efficient heat dissipation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a fractionator configured to fractionate a sample solution comprising particles;
a fluid inlet coupled to an outlet of the fractionator and coupled to a measurement chamber,
wherein the fluid inlet is configured to introduce the sample solution into the measurement chamber;

a measurement chamber configured to allow the sample solution to flow in a direction essentially parallel to a path of a laser beam transmitted through the measurement chamber, resulting in a fluid flow;
a fluid outlet coupled to the measurement chamber,
wherein the fluid outlet is configured to allow the sample solution to exit the measurement chamber;

electrodes configured to generate an alternating electric field across the measurement chamber and essentially perpendicular to the direction,
thereby minimizing a Doppler component from the fluid flow; and

a concentration detector coupled to the fractionator and coupled to the measurement chamber,
wherein the concentration detector is configured to measure a concentration of each species in the sample solution, resulting in a measured concentration of the each species in the sample solution.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fractionator comprises a field flow fractionation system.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fractionator comprises a size exclusion chromatography system.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fractionator comprises a reversed phase chromatography system.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fractionator comprises a reversed phase chromatography system.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the concentration detector comprises a refractive index detector.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a back pressure regulator configured to provide pressurization of the sample solution within the measurement chamber.

Assignees

• Wyatt Tech Corp

Inventors

• Hsieh Hung-Te
• Trainoff Steven P

Classifications

• G01N2015/0003

  Determining electric mobility, velocity profile, average speed or velocity of a plurality of particles · CPC title

• G01N27/44721 Primary

  by optical means · CPC title

• B01D15/325

  Reversed phase · CPC title

• B01D15/34

  Size-selective separation, e.g. size-exclusion chromatography; Gel filtration; Permeation · CPC title

• G01N27/44769

  Continuous electrophoresis, i.e. the sample being continuously introduced, e.g. free flow electrophoresis [FFE] · CPC title