Pharma IQ Glossary: Ultrafiltration

Ultrafiltration (UF) is a type of filtration. Industries such as chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing, food and beverage processing, and waste water treatment, employ ultrafiltration in order to recycle flow or add value to later products. UF's main attraction is its ability to purify, separate, and concentrate target macromolecules in continuous systems. UF does this by pressurizing the solution flow. The solvent and other dissolved components that pass through the membrane are known as permeate. The components that do not pass through are known as retentate.