Concentration of amino acids using supported liquid membranes with di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid as a carrier

Basic studies of a procedure for extraction of amino acids using a supported liquid membrane containing di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid are presented. The extractions are made from an aqueous donor phase with pH 3 to a more acidic acceptor phase and the mass transfer is driven by the proton gradient between these phases. For 0.01 mM tryptophan and with 1 M HCl as acceptor phase, an extraction efficiency of 60% is obtained, constant up to at least 12 h. This permits concentration enrichment factors linearly increasing with time up to values of at least 150. For higher amino acid concentrations, the extraction efficiency is constant only over shorter time intervals.