Electrophoresis of DNA on a disordered two-dimensional substrate

Cynthia J. Olson Reichhardt; Charles Reichhardt

Electrophoresis of DNA on a disordered two-dimensional substrate

ORAL

Abstract

We propose a new method for electrophoretic separation of DNA in which adsorbed polymers are driven over a disordreed two-dimensional substrate which contains attractive sites for the polymers. Using simulations of a model for long polymer chains, we show that the mobility increases with polymer length, in contrast to gel electrophoresis techniques, and that separation can be achieved for a range of length scales. We demonstrate that the separation mechanism relies on excluded volume interactions between polymer segments.

March 17, 2006, 10:24 AM – March 17, 2006, 10:36 AM

Authors

Cynthia J. Olson Reichhardt

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Charles Reichhardt

Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Center for Nonlinear Studies and Theoretical Divison, Los Alamos National Laboratory, T-13 and T-CNLS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory