SBIR Phase I: Acoustic Size Fractionation of Chromatography Column Particles

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