Figure 4.

FPLC chromatograms of recovered Qβ samples subjected to shear rates of (A) 0.1 s⁻¹, (B) 1 s⁻¹, (C) 10 s⁻¹, and (D) 50 s⁻¹. DLS plots of recovered Qβ samples subjected to shear rates of (E) 0.1 s⁻¹, (F) 1 s⁻¹, (G) 10 s⁻¹, and (H) 50 s⁻¹. Both FPLC and DLS results indicate that low shear rates, from 0.1 to 1 s⁻¹, resulted in an increase in aggregated species. Higher shear rates, up to 10 s⁻¹, dispersed aggregated species due to the higher shear forces applied. Shear rates exceeding 10 s⁻¹ induced particle breakup as evidenced by the appearance of a large peak at 22.5 mL on the FPLC chromatogram.