Solute distribution coupled with laminar flow in wide-bore capillaries: what can be separated without chemical or physical fields?

Solute diffusion coupled with an orthogonal laminar flow has been systematically studied with wide-bore capillaries to establish its limitations and reveal its potentials as separation methodology requiring neither chemical nor physical interactions. Simulations based on the advection-diffusion equation in a cylindrical coordinate system indicate several important features of this potentially useful method: (1) if a solute diffuses over the entire cross-section of the capillary before it is eluted from the capillary, it behaves as a diffusive solute and gives a Gaussian-shaped peak (diffusion peak) having an apex at the traveling time of the average flow; (2) when a solute is poorly (or not) diffusive, a new peak appears with an apex at the elution time of the maximum flow (non-diffusion peak); (3) these two peaks are simultaneously detected for intermediately diffusive solutes; (4) the transformation from the diffusion to non-diffusion peak occurs when the solute diffuses over the distance 0.86 times as large as the capillary radius before it leaves the capillary. These results of simulations are consistent with experimental results for selected solutes having various diffusivities. This method has proved useful particularly for the evaluation of diffusion coefficients of poorly diffusive solutes. Separation of PS particles having different sizes is also attempted.