SINGLE MOLECULE DYNAMICS OF DNA DURING ELECTROKINETIC TRANSPORT THROUGH NANOFLUIDIC CHANNELS

摘要

The electrokinetically-driven translocation of single DNA molecules through nanochannels in quartz devices was monitored using fluorescence microscopy. Observation of fast intramolecular relaxation dynamics was possible with the use of high intensity excitation and high-gain, high-speed detection. These dynamics are two orders of magnitude faster than observed in previous related studies. A study investigating the dependence of relaxation times on the driving voltage and DNA length suggested that the rapid relaxation was due to a highly strained initial conformation induced during the threading process. These findings are relevant to various high throughput applications in which measurements are made on translocating polynucleotides.