Figure 1.
Experimental phase diagram of an ATPS with PEG35k and DEX500k as phase-forming polymers. The diagram shows a binodal curve above which combinations of concentrations of two polymers give rise to a two-phase system (top inset image). Below the binodal curve, phase separation does not happen (bottom inset image). With an initial concentration of 6.4% DEX and 5% PEG (green point), a two-phase system with specific compositions of top and bottom phases forms (blue points). The intersection of the tie line and the binodal curve shows the concentration of top PEG-rich phase and bottom DEX-rich phase.