| Abstract: | Ultrafiltration has been used with increasing frequency in recent years in biological laboratories for concentration, separation or purification of biological material. No data have been available on the comparison of the characteristics of Ultrafiltration systems currently in use. This study compares the filtration characteristics of four systems using commercially available membranes on suspensions and solutions: suspension of protein micelles (casein), cell debris (E. coli) and catalase solution. None of the four systems considered is found to be generally superior for all the suspensions and solutions. Vibration systems were most effective when relatively large particles were involved, while laminar flow recycling systems with high wall shear rates were best for dilute suspensions and proteins in solution. It was found that shearing inactivates enzymes in both recycle and vibration systems. It was also observed that vibration actually reduces flux in dilute solutions. |
