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DNA electrophoresis on a flat surface
N Pernodet1, V Samuilov, K Shin
1Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3400, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|January 3, 2001
Abstract:
We report a new approach for performing DNA electrophoresis. Using experimental studies and molecular dynamics simulations, we show that a perfectly flat silicon wafer, without any surface features, can be used to fractionate DNA in free solution. We determine that the ability of a flat surface to separate DNA molecules results from the local friction between the surface and the adsorbed DNA segments. We control this friction by coating the Si surface with silane monolayer films and show that it is possible to systematically change the size range of DNA that can be separated.