Circular Geometry in Molecular Stream Separation to Facilitate Nonorthogonal Field-to-Flow Orientation

Molecular stream separation (MSS) is a promising complement for continuous-flow synthesis. MSS is driven by forces exerted on molecules by a field applied at an angle to the stream-carrying flow. MSS has only been performed with a 90° field-to-flow angle because of a rectangular geometry of canonic MSS; the second-order rotational symmetry of a rectangle prevents any other angle. Here, we propose a noncanonic circular geometry for MSS, which better aligns with the polar nature of MSS and allows changing the field-to-flow. We conducted in silico and experimental studies of circular geometry for continuous-flow electrophoresis (CFE, an MSS method). We proved two advantages of circular CFE over its rectangular counterpart. First, circular CFE can support better flow and electric-field uniformity than rectangular CFE. Second, the nonorthogonal field-to-flow orientation, achievable in circular CFE, can result in a higher stream resolution than the orthogonal one. Considering that circular CFE devices are not more complex in fabrication than rectangular ones, we foresee that circular CFE will serve as a new standard and a testbed for the investigation and creation of new CFE modalities.