Trapping of DNA in nonuniform oscillating electric fields.

DNA molecules can be manipulated in aqueous solution in a manner analogous to optical trapping. Due to the induction of an electric dipole, DNA molecules are pulled by a gradient force to regions of high electric field strength. Molecules can be locally trapped in an oscillating field using strips of very thin gold film to generate strong electric fields with steep gradients. Spatial control over the trapped molecules is achieved because they are confined to a width of approximately 5 microm along the edges of the gold-film strips. By mixing static and oscillating electric fields, trapped molecules can be moved from one edge to another or made to follow precise trajectories along the edges. This phenomenon should be useful in microdevices for manipulation of small quantities or single molecules of DNA.

[1]  M. Washizu,et al.  Electrostatic manipulation of DNA in microfabricated structures , 1989, Conference Record of the IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting,.

[2]  H. A. Pohl,et al.  Separation of Living and Dead Cells by Dielectrophoresis , 1966, Science.

[3]  A. Woolley,et al.  Ultra-high-speed DNA sequencing using capillary electrophoresis chips. , 1995, Analytical chemistry.

[4]  A. Ashkin.  Forces of a single-beam gradient laser trap on a dielectric sphere in the ray optics regime. , 1992, Methods in cell biology.

[5]  Masao Washizu,et al.  Applications of electrostatic stretch-and-positioning of DNA , 1993, Conference Record of the 1993 IEEE Industry Applications Conference Twenty-Eighth IAS Annual Meeting.

[6]  A. Ajdari,et al.  Free-flow electrophoresis with trapping by a transverse inhomogeneous field. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  S. Takashima.  DIELECTRIC DISPERSION OF DNA. , 1963, Journal of molecular biology.

[8]  P. Brown,et al.  A DNA microarray system for analyzing complex DNA samples using two-color fluorescent probe hybridization. , 1996, Genome research.

[9]  R E Glass,et al.  Visualization of single molecules of RNA polymerase sliding along DNA. , 1993, Science.

[10]  H. A. Pohl,et al.  Dielectrophoresis: The Behavior of Neutral Matter in Nonuniform Electric Fields , 1978 .

[11]  A. Woolley,et al.  Ultra-high-speed DNA fragment separations using microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis chips. , 1994, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[12]  R. Pethig,et al.  Relationship of dielectrophoretic and electrorotational behaviour exhibited by polarized particles , 1992 .

[13]  S. Takashima.  Effect of ions on the dielectric relaxation of DNA , 1967, Biopolymers.

[14]  T. Tsong,et al.  Cell fission and formation of mini cell bodies by high frequency alternating electric field. , 1995, Biophysical journal.

[15]  R A Mathies,et al.  DNA sequencing using capillary array electrophoresis. , 1992, Analytical chemistry.

[16]  R. Pethig,et al.  Separation of viable and non-viable yeast using dielectrophoresis. , 1994, Journal of biotechnology.

[17]  Masao Washizu,et al.  Molecular dielectrophoresis of bio-polymers , 1992, Conference Record of the 1992 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting.

[18]  M. A. Northrup,et al.  Functional integration of PCR amplification and capillary electrophoresis in a microfabricated DNA analysis device. , 1996, Analytical chemistry.

[19]  W. P. Ambrose,et al.  Rapid sizing of individual fluorescently stained DNA fragments by flow cytometry. , 1993, Nucleic acids research.

[20]  F F Becker,et al.  Dielectrophoretic characterisation of Friend murine erythroleukaemic cells as a measure of induced differentiation. , 1990, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[21]  J. Prost,et al.  Segregation in DNA solutions induced by electric fields , 1995, Science.

[22]  J H Jett,et al.  Large DNA fragment sizing by flow cytometry: application to the characterization of P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) clones. , 1996, Nucleic acids research.

[23]  N. Dovichi,et al.  Yoctomole detection limit by laser-induced fluorescence in capillary electrophoresis. , 1994, Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical applications.

[24]  Theo Odijk,et al.  Dielectric Properties of Polyelectrolyte Solutions , 1984 .