Nanoparticle field flow fractionation method

Separation by flow field-flow fractionation (FFFF) allows the determination of size distribution of molecules and colloids in the submicrometer-diameter range and was first shown by Beckett et al. (1987). Since then, the method has been often used for studies on the mobility of DOM-related nanoparticles. Coupling the FFF with ICP-MS (Exner et al., 2000) leads to useful information on metal speciation. 

A promising method to measure size and concentration of unlabeled nanoparticles is through separation by field-flow fractionation (FFF), which was first developed in the 1960s for separating macromolecules, colloids, and particles [11,12]. FFF has been used for the measurement of numerous properties of macromolecules and colloidal particles, including particle mass, size, and density. Caldwell et al. reported seminal work applying FFF to detect protein-based particles in eye lens cataracts [13]. FFF has been used to characterize natural aquatic colloids [14-16], and perform size separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes [17]. 

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