Polymer-Based Aqueous-Two Phase Systems: Fundamentals and Applications

This book presents the fundamentals of the separation mechanism of the environmentally benign polymer-based aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) and applications of ATPS to separation and/or enrichment of inorganic compounds with batch extraction and chromatographic techniques. It first describes the structures of the aqueous polymer phases formed in the ATPS. Then the effect of the background electrolyte on the distribution of ionic solutes is discussed. A subsequent chapter shows the applications of the ATPS batch extraction to analyses of trace metal ions in environmental samples. In the following chapter, the author introduces multistep pH-peak-focusing countercurrent chromatography developed for the separation and enrichment of metal ions with a PEG/Na2SO4 ATPS. Lastly, the author explains that liquid chromatography (LC) with hydrophilic polymer gel columns using an aqueous solution as the mobile phase is regarded as an efficient separation and enrichment technique based on ATPS, and describes multi-step pH peak focusing LC and partition/ion-exclusion chromatographic ion stacking (PIEC ion stacking), newly developed ATPS chromatographic techniques for separation and enrichment of metal ions and inorganic anions in detail. This book helps researchers and engineers design and implement appropriate environmentally benign analytical methods for environmental analyses, reagent manufacturers, metal refining industry, and so on.

Dr. Shibukawa is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Japan. He received his Ph.D. from Tokyo Metropolitan University in 1981. His current research interests lie in chemical separations and measurements―especially liquid chromatography and aqueous biphasic extraction. One long-range goal of his research is development of methods for characterization of separation fields using molecules and ions as probes. He served as Vice President of Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry, Chair of the Division of Analytical Chemistry of the Chemical Society of Japan, Associate Editor of the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan and Analytical Sciences, and Editorial Advisory Board Member of Journal of Separation Science.