Patent ID: 7906026
Filing Date: 2011-03-15
Classification: B01D,G01N,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: (a) passing a fluid comprising different components having different effective molecular diameters from end to end of an apparatus having at least about 1000 to about ten million open, nanoscale channels disposed in surfaces of a first and second substrates, the first and second substrates bonded together such that each of the channels of the first substrate is in fluid communication with at least two of the channels of the second substrate and is misaligned relative to the channels of the second substrate, and each of the channels of the second substrate is in fluid communication with at least two of the channels of the first substrate, and wherein the fluid communication between channels creates a continuous nonlinear pathway in which the fluid passes alternatingly between the channels of the first substrate and the channels of the second substrate; (b) obtaining different fractions of the passed fluid, each of the fractions comprising a major portion comprising components having similar size and shape and substantially free of components having a different size and shape wherein the size and shape of the major portion of components of each of the fractions is different from the size and shape of the major portions of the components of the other fractions.