Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation for Sizing of Gold Nanoparticles in Suspension
Published on: September 11, 2020
Colloid characterization by sedimentation field-flow fractionation: correction for particle-wall interaction
P S Williams1, Y Xu, P Reschiglian
1Field-Flow Fractionation Research Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112.
Abstract:
The effect of particle-wall interaction on retention ratios in sedimentation field-flow fractionation (FFF) is shown to be describable in terms of a semiempirical parameter δ(w) having units of length. A method of experimentally determining the value of this parameter for a given system is presented. It requires the determination of retention ratios for a set of particle standards over a range of field strengths. The value of δ(w) is simply obtained from the slope of a certain straight line plot of the retention data. Once determined, this parameter may be incorporated into the procedure for the determination of particle diameters from measured retention times to take account of the effects of particle-wall interaction. In principle, δ(w) is independent of field strength and is the same for different FFF instruments providing they employ the same carrier liquid and channel wall material. Therefore, δ(w) values have the potential to be universal system constants transferable from one instrument to another.
Related Concept Videos
Centrifugation
Colloids and Suspensions
Subcellular Fractionation
Differential Centrifugation
Differential centrifugation is...
Colloidal precipitates
The Colloidal State
Colloids

