Abstract

Aqueous two-phase extraction has been effectively used for the separation and purification of several biological molecules. The main advantages of aqueous two-phase extraction are biocompatibility, scope for continuous operation, process integration and ease of scale up. In downstream processing, aqueous two-phase extraction has found its applications in extraction, purification and concentration of various biomolecules. In this review, some of the applications of aqueous two-phase systemsemployed in downstream processing besides some basic aspects and a few case studies are presented. Some of the recent developments with regard to aqueous two-phase extraction are reviewed and the future prospects are also briefly discussed.

Keywords: Aqueous two-phase extraction, biocompatibility, downstream processing, purification, scale up.

Graphical Abstract