Evaluation of mass transfer rate in aqueous two-phase systems: Effect of microchannel width for bovine serum albumin extraction

In this research, extraction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) based on polyethylene glycol/sodium citrate using the microfluidic apparatus were investigated. The operational variables were studied using microchannel width (800-400 mu m), salt phase flow rate (1.6-4 mL/h), polyethylene glycolrich phase flow rate (0.8-2 mL/h), and pH (5-9) by response surface methodology (RSM). Double interfaces performed BSA transfer from the salt phase to the polyethylene glycol (PEG) phase. The effects of adding the interface on the mass transfer coefficient and the mass transfer rate were evaluated. Using the microfluidic system due to having two interfaces will increase the extraction rate compared to macro systems with a single interface. In values, salt phase pH of 7, PEG phase flow rate of 2 mL/h, and salt phase flow rate of 4 mL/h were the optimum condition for BSA extraction rate (70.9%.) in this study.

Automated summary

This research investigated the extraction of bovine serum albumin with aqueous two-phase systems based on polyethylene glycol/sodium citrate using a microfluidic apparatus. The study found that having double interfaces can enhance mass transfer and increase the extraction rate.