Author : John Paul Frampton
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
Page : 117 pages
File Size : 24,2 MB
Release : 2020-01-13
Category :
ISBN : 288963356X
The phase separation of incompatible liquids has been a topic of significant importance in chemical and industrial engineering for many years. Well-understood examples of this phenomenon include the phase separation of oil with water and the phase separation of non-polar organic solvents with water. Similar behavior is observed when aqueous solutions of two or more incompatible polymers or polymers and salts are mixed. In these mixtures (referred to as aqueous two-phase systems), the separated phases are composed mostly of water. Aqueous two-phase systems have been used extensively for the extraction of high-value biological products from mixtures of biological materials. In recent years, aqueous two-phase systems have also found increased use as materials for streamlining and improving the capabilities of cell and molecular assays, and for the design of advanced cell culture systems. Similar behavior of biological materials in living systems has also been observed, with emerging roles in cell physiology.