Download or read book The Science and Application of Aqueous Two-Phase Systems and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in Biotechnology and Bioengineering written by John Paul Frampton and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-01-13 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The phase separation of incompatible liquids has been a topic of significant importance in chemical and industrial engineering for many years. Well-understood examples of this phenomenon include the phase separation of oil with water and the phase separation of non-polar organic solvents with water. Similar behavior is observed when aqueous solutions of two or more incompatible polymers or polymers and salts are mixed. In these mixtures (referred to as aqueous two-phase systems), the separated phases are composed mostly of water. Aqueous two-phase systems have been used extensively for the extraction of high-value biological products from mixtures of biological materials. In recent years, aqueous two-phase systems have also found increased use as materials for streamlining and improving the capabilities of cell and molecular assays, and for the design of advanced cell culture systems. Similar behavior of biological materials in living systems has also been observed, with emerging roles in cell physiology.