Some aspects of continuous flow electrophoresis in microgravity

Zone electrophoresis is a highly efficient method of separating biological products. It is based on the differences of mobilities of ionized particles in an electric field. During the separation complications arise due to electro-osmosis or thermal convection generated by Joule heating.This paper analyses the hydrodynamical running of a continuous flow zone electrophoresis cell and shows the influence of specific parameters on the separation.The modelling of the flow structure of the buffer solution is developed. The equations and the corresponding boundary conditions are solved by finite difference method. The model established provides knowledge of the hydrodynamical perturbations generated by electro-osmosis and thermal free convection. The case of microgravity is considered.