Migration of DNA Due to a Combination of Parallel Pressure Gradient and External Electric Field

dna

A combination of a parallel electric field and pressure gradient can cause DNA molecules to migrate transverse to the field lines. We hypothesize that the phenomenon is due to an electrically induced velocity disturbance. A Brownian dynamics method for a bead-spring model of a polymer, that incorporates this electrically induced velocity disturbance, was constructed and used to predict the dynamics of DNA molecules transported through a microfluidic channel due to the pressure driven flow and electric field. Using simulation, we obtained the probability distribution of the centers-of-mass of the DNA molecules in multiple channels with different cross-sectional dimensions. Preliminary simulation results match, at least qualitatively, the extent of migration and the entry length measured in the experiments.

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Written on December 25, 2017