Factors Affecting the Diffusion of Proteins

There are a variety of properties that can affect the transport of proteins through hydrophilic materials. These include the effects of pH, temperature, ionic strength, and solvent. The characteristics ofthe solute (size, shape, and ionizability) and the polymer are also important in determining the transport behavior. 

It can easily be seen from Eq. (5) that changing the loading concentration and thus the driving force [dc/(dx)], up the solubdity limit can affect the flux for a given diffusion coefficient, D. Another important consideration is that the diffusion coefficient can be a function ofthe concentration, especially in highly concentrated systems (Crank, 1975). For dilute systems, the concentration dependence ofZ) can be assumed to be negUgible. 

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