Latest theoretical investigations conducted by researchers from the Institut de Ciencia de Materials de Barcelona and the Grup de Fisica Estadistica de la Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona have shed some light on the key aspects of the magnetophoretic separation process.
The work of Dr. Jordi Faraudo, Dr. Juan Camacho and Jordi Andreu show the existence of two different magnetophoretic regimes: a fast separation regime, where particles aggregate into clusters (cooperative magnetophoresis), and a slow one where particles do not aggregate (non-cooperative magnetophoresis). The magnetophoretic regime solely depends on the concentration, and the size and magnetic content of the particles in a well defined quantitative way. This fact provides a fast and reliable way to distinguish between fast (cooperative) and slow (non-cooperative) magnetophoretic separation regimes. These findings can help to design magnetic beads and biomagnetic separation systems with faster separation times.
The theory has been tested with the experimental results of several magnetic beads and particles, mainly produced adhoc by Dr. Maria Benelmekki at the Centro de Fisica of the Universidade do Minho (Braga, Portugal). The experimental work has been done in cooperation with Sepmag researchers, using precision magnetophoresis systems and the QCR monitoring add-on.
The researchers have also presented an analytical model to describe the kinetics of the separation process of superparamagnetic dispersions under homogeneous magnetic fields in the non-cooperative case. This analytical model has been possible due to the homogeneous and completely reproducible biomagnetic separation conditions inside a Sepmag.
References:
J. Andreu, J. Camacho, J. Faraudo. Aggregation of superparamagnetic colloids in magnetic fields: the quest for the equilibrium state. Soft Matter 7, 2336 (2011).
J. Andreu, J. Camacho, J. Faraudo, M. Benelmekki, C. Rebollo, Ll.M. Martinez. Simple analytical model for the magnetophoretic separation of superparamagnetic dispersions in a uniform magnetic field. Phys. Rev. E 84, 021402 (2011).
