DNA conformational dynamics in polymer solutions above and below the entanglement limit

Video microscopy of nucleic acids (DNA) undergoing electrophoresis in hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) sieving buffers demonstrates previously unobserved shape-changing interactions between DNA and HEC molecules. We provide the first visual demonstration of entanglement between DNA and one or several discrete HEC molecules, which has been postulated to occur in ultradilute polymer solutions. Typically, nucleic acids appear to become entangled with HEC at a single region only, in both dilute and fully entangled HEC solutions. Fluctuations of the center of mass velocity of a DNA molecule and its correlation with conformation are revealed from analyses of the image data. These observations account for the success of recently reported rapid, high-resolution dc and pulsed-field capillary electrophoretic separations of nucleic acids in ultradilute hydroxyethyl cellulose solutions and hydroxyethyl cellulose/poly(ethylene oxide) solutions.