Asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) is a particle-size based fractionation technique, which uses an open-channel design, thus eliminating analyte loss as a result of irreversible adsorption on column packing materials. AF4 can be coupled online to various detectors, such as UV-Vis and fluorescence spectrometers, multiangle light-scattering (MALS), dynamic light-scattering (DLS) and refractive index detectors. AF4 is a powerful tool to characterize macromolecular complexes, polymeric nanoparticles, and biopolymers, such as proteins, polysaccharides, and oligonucleotides. Presented here are two AF4 analyses carried out in our laboratories In one study, AF4 was used to characterize the complexes formed between poly(acrylates) and polyclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) in its native conformation and after heat-stress. The AF4 protocols developed allowed the fractionation of solutions containing free poly(acrylates), native IgG monomer and dimer, poly(acrylates)/IgG complexes made up of one IgG molecule and a few polymer chains, and larger poly(acrylates)/IgG aggregates1. In a second study, AF4 was used to characterize polymersomes formed by polymethyloxazoline-b-polydimethylsiloxane-b- polymethyl-oxazoline and mixed systems formed by the triblock copolymer and dimyristoyl-phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The encapsulation of the drugs in liposome, polymersome and the “binary-somes” was also evaluated using a fluorescent probe as the model. Ma, D. W.;Martin, N; Tribet, C; Winnik, F. M.. Anal and bioanal. Chem. Accepted, oct 2014.

Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation for the comprehensive characterization of polymer assemblies

249th National Meeting (2015)

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