Continuous split-flow thin cell and gravitational field-flow fractionationof wheat starch particles

The combined employment of the SPLITT (split-flow thin) cell - a relatively new system for fast, continuous binary separation - and of gravitational f ield-flow fractionation (GrFFF) - a fractionation technique suitable for mi cron particle size distribution determination - was investigated for starch separation and characterization. Emphasis is placed on the main advantages of both techniques: operating under gentle earth gravity field, low cost a nd ease of maintenance. The reproducibility of GrFFF is demonstrated. Both the SPLI'IT separation and GrFFF fractionation results were checked by opti cal microscopy. Application examples of typical starch fractionation experi ments are reported and discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.