SBIR Phase I: Acoustic Size Fractionation of Chromatography Column Particles

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是创造一种技术，该技术使用声波按尺寸分离小颗粒，其有效性远远超过目前商业上可用的水平。 这种粒度控制对于提高分离技术如色谱法的效率是重要的。 色谱法在科学和制造业中广泛用于分离混合物中的组分。 该技术可广泛应用于工业、制药和生物医学领域。 第一阶段研究项目的技术目标是开发一种新型的高流量、两级声分离技术。 已经很好地建立了使用压力迫使细胞和颗粒穿过流的流动流中的声集中。 目前的系统通过在相距数十至数百微米的发射器和反射器之间建立超声驻波来产生足够的声学力以集中生物细胞和小颗粒。 系统中小通道的这些尺寸将样品流速限制为每分钟数百微升。 拟议的研发将采用Acoustic Biosystems开发的新颖专有技术，在宽矩形通道中生产单个平面声学节点。 矩形流动横截面支持通过共振声波的高样品流速。 所设想的声学分离技术将在流体层流剖面内使用两个精确对准的声压节点。 第一声学区将使溶液中的所有颗粒对齐，第二声学区将使颗粒按尺寸分布在整个流中。 收集层流的切片将产生颗粒的窄尺寸部分

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is the creation of technology that uses sound waves to separate small particles by size with a level of effectiveness that far surpasses what is currently available commercially. Such particle size control is important for enhancing the efficiency of separation techniques such as chromatography. Chromatography is broadly used in science and manufacturing to separate components in a mixture. The technology could have applicability in a broad array of uses both industrial, pharmaceutical and biomedical. The technical objectives in this Phase I research project are the development of a novel high-flow, two-stage acoustic fractionation technology. Acoustic concentration in a flow stream using pressure to force cells and particles across a flow has been well established. Current systems generate sufficient acoustic force to concentrate biological cells and small particles by establishing an ultrasonic standing wave between transmitters and reflectors that are tens to hundreds of microns apart. These dimensions of a small channel in the systems limit the sample flow rate to hundreds of microliters per minute. The proposed R&D will employ novel proprietary technology developed by Acoustic Biosystems for producing a single planar acoustic node in a wide rectangular channel. The rectangular flow cross section supports high sample flow rates through the resonant acoustic waves. The envisioned acoustic fractionation technology will use two precisely aligned acoustic pressure nodes within a fluid laminar flow profile. The first acoustic zone will align all the particles in the solution and the second zone will spread the particles across the flow by size. Collection of slices of the laminar flow will yield narrow size fractions of the particles