(387f) Effect of Imperfections in Microvoids On Optimal Time of Separations

Research involving polymer gels with embedded nanoparticles of varying properties is quite attractive because of the multitude of potential applications, including separation of biomacromolecules for environmental proteomics in the assessment of contaminant impact on health issues; more effective and less time consuming clinical diagnostics, growth of tissue in synthetic or natural scaffold etc. Previously, analysis of the effects of the pore length and diameters on the transport of biomolecules was studied either analytically or computationally. In this research, we focus on computationally analyzing different pore models (associated with gel materials) and study the effect of geometry on the transport properties. In particular the role of the convective-diffusive transport via different values for the Peclet number will be assessed. Results will illustrate, for example, the role of pore-scale in conjunction with the effect of electrical fields in assessing different convective-diffusive regimes. Also, optimal time for the separations to occur will also be discussed.