A Hydration Shell‐Based Thermodynamic Model for Aqueous Two‐Phase Systems

Abstract

In this work a Flory‐Huggins model modified to account for some unique features of Aqueous Two‐Phase Systems is presented. The model takes into account observed solvation between water and polymer molecules through the incorporation of a hydration shell to express the number of water molecules bonded to each polymer molecule. The parameters of the modified equation were determined using experimental data of ATPS containing poly (ethylene glycol) and dextran. The results revealed remarkable improvement in the correlation ability of the model. A general expression that defines the number of water molecules in the hydration shell was also obtained.