Functionally Graded Material Separation for Fluid Resolution

The patent applies local quality by creating a functionally graded material where the stationary phase concentration varies continuously across the separation channel. Different regions of the channel have different stationary phase concentrations optimized for separating specific components of the mixture, allowing simultaneous high-resolution separation of multiple components without the band broadening that occurs in traditional uniform chromatography systems

The patent transitions from one-dimensional chromatographic separation to two-dimensional separation by incorporating both longitudinal flow direction and transverse gradient direction. The functionally graded material creates a concentration gradient across the channel width while flow proceeds along the channel length, enabling separation based on multiple interaction mechanisms simultaneously and achieving higher resolution without increased band broadening

The patent segments the separation function across different spatial regions of the channel. The functionally graded material divides the channel into zones with different stationary phase concentrations, where each zone contributes to separating specific components. This allows parallel processing of multiple separation events simultaneously across the channel width, maintaining high selectivity while increasing overall throughput compared to sequential gradient elution

The patent achieves continuous separation across the entire channel width simultaneously, rather than through sequential gradient steps. The continuous functionally graded material profile enables all components of the mixture to be separated in a single pass through the channel, eliminating the time-consuming sequential gradient elution process while maintaining high selectivity for each component