Pressure-driven transport of confined DNA polymers in fluidic channels

The pressure-driven transport of individual DNA molecules in 175-nm to 3.8-microm high silica channels was studied by fluorescence microscopy. Two distinct transport regimes were observed. The pressure-driven mobility of DNA increased with molecular length in channels higher than a few times the molecular radius of gyration, whereas DNA mobility was practically independent of molecular length in thin channels. In addition, both the Taylor dispersion and the self-diffusion of DNA molecules decreased significantly in confined channels in accordance with scaling relationships. These transport properties, which reflect the statistical nature of DNA polymer coils, may be of interest in the development of "lab-on-a-chip" technologies.