Chromatography Flow Guide for Uniform Medium Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Chromatography systems suffer from mixing and poor distribution of liquid pulses, leading to reduced resolution, increased buffer usage, and underutilization of chromatography media, which results in higher costs and lower yield of target species.
Innovation Solution
A chromatography system with a functionalized planar adsorbent medium and flow guides that distribute liquid evenly across the medium, reducing differences in arrival time and flow velocity, and using ridges to minimize dead volume and turbulent flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If liquid is introduced to the chromatography system through a feed pipe or tube of smaller cross sectional area, then volume expansion event occurs at the inlet, but this leads to mixing or separation of the incoming pulse and poor distribution across the annuluses
Solution Approach 1:
The inlet is divided into multiple inlet ports distributed across the cross-section of the feed pipe. This segmentation allows liquid to enter at multiple locations simultaneously, preventing volume expansion at a single point and ensuring uniform distribution across the annuluses and chromatography media from the start.
Solution Approach 2:
The inlet configuration transitions from a single-point entry (0D/1D) to a distributed multi-point entry (2D/3D) across the feed pipe cross-section. This dimensional change eliminates the volume expansion event by distributing the liquid introduction throughout the cross-sectional area, thereby preventing mixing and ensuring uniform flow distribution.
2Length of moving object
If inlet and outlet are positioned at the furthest edges of chromatographic media, then path length is maximized, but this creates significant volume expansion and mixing in the annuluses
Solution Approach 1:
The single inlet is segmented into multiple inlet ports positioned at different locations around the feed pipe cross-section. This allows the liquid to be introduced at multiple points simultaneously, maintaining the long path length through the media while preventing volume expansion and mixing that would occur with a single inlet at the edge.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the feed pipe cross-section are given different inlet ports based on local flow requirements. The inlet ports are strategically positioned to ensure each region receives appropriate flow distribution, preventing mixing in the annuluses while maintaining optimal path length through the chromatography media.
3Productivity
If conventional chromatography systems are used, then processing can be performed, but buffer usage increases and yield of target species decreases due to underutilization of media
Solution Approach 1:
The distributed inlet ports segment the liquid introduction across multiple locations, ensuring uniform flow distribution throughout the chromatography media. This prevents channeling and underutilization of media regions, allowing complete utilization of the media capacity and reducing the volume of buffer required to achieve the same processing throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The flow distribution parameters are optimized by positioning multiple inlet ports at specific locations around the feed pipe cross-section. This changes the flow regime from concentrated expansion to distributed uniform flow, improving media utilization efficiency and reducing buffer consumption while maintaining or increasing productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves resolution, reduces required pulse volumes, increases capacity, and enhances the concentration of target species by minimizing mixing and ensuring uniform distribution across the chromatography medium.
Implementation Method 1
a flow guide downstream of the inlet and upstream of the adsorbent chromatography medium and configured to distribute a flow of a liquid from the inlet across a width of the adsorbent chromatography medium
Implementation Method 2
Such chromatographic separations involve binding of i) the target molecule and/or, ii) one or more impurities, to a solid phase when a liquid phase containing the target molecule and impurities is contacted with the solid phase. The interaction between target molecule/impurities and the solid phase can be based on ionic interaction, hydrophobicity, affinity or a combination thereof.
Implementation Method 3
using ridges to minimize dead volume and turbulent flow
Data Source
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AI summary
A chromatography system for at least one of tangential flow chromatography and lateral flow chromatography comprising: an inlet; a functionalised adsorbent chromatography medium downstream of the inlet; an outlet downstream of the adsorbent chromatography medium; and a flow guide downstream of the inlet and upstream of the adsorbent chromatography medium and configured to distribute a flow of a liquid from the inlet across a width of the adsorbent chromatography medium; wherein the flow guide comprises a pattern of channels providing flow paths from the inlet to different parts of the adsorbent chromatography medium along the width of the adsorbent chromatography medium, wherein the pattern of channels is provided so as to reduce a difference in arrival time and/or flow velocity of liquid reaching the adsorbent chromatography medium across the width of the adsorbent chromatography medium.