Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Combining Single-molecule Manipulation and Imaging for the Study of Protein-DNA Interactions
Published on: August 27, 2014
Trapping of DNA by thermophoretic depletion and convection
Dieter Braun1, Albert Libchaber
1Center for Studies in Physics and Biology, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10021, USA. mail@dieterb.de
Abstract:
Thermophoresis depletes DNA from a heated spot. We quantify for the first time the thermal diffusion constant D(T)=0.4x10(-8) cm(2)/s K for DNA, using fluorescent dyes and laser heating. For 5 kB DNA we extrapolate a 1000-fold depletion from a temperature difference of 50 K. Surprisingly, convection generated by the same heating can turn the depletion into trapping of DNA. Trapped DNA can form point geometries 20 microm in diameter with more than 1000-fold enhanced concentrations. The accumulation is driven only by temperature gradients and offers a new approach to biological microfluidics and replicating systems in prebiotic evolution.
Related Concept Videos
DNA Isolation
DNA Isolation
DNA Agarose Gel Electrophoresis
Gel extraction follows five major steps: running gel electrophoresis to separate fragments, isolating the individual bands, extracting DNA from those bands, and removing the dye and salts from the extracted mixture to obtain pure DNA.
In cloning experiments, both the insert and vector DNA...
Southern Blot
Denatured DNA fragments must be transferred onto a carrier membrane from the gel to make it accessible to a probe - a small ssDNA fragment complementary to the target DNA...
Capillary Electrophoresis: Instrumentation

