title: Millimeter scale separation of DNA with a replaceable polymer matrix.
abstract: Electrophoresis is a powerful method that has seen a wide range of applications, often in automated genetic diagnostic instruments that require the use of a replaceable sieving matrix. The power and simplicity of electrophoresis as an analysis technique would be ideal for highly integrated and low-cost analysis systems if the method could be implemented in microfluidics on the scale of several mm. We demonstrate the electrophoretic analysis of DNA with separation lengths as small as 2 mm and with a resolution adequate for the analysis of PCR products, i.e. resolutions of 10-20 base pairs. Such small-scale separations enable analysis systems consisting of microfluidics and microelectronics integrated into a single inexpensive package, thereby overcoming a key challenge facing the development of the lab on chip technologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Dammika P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Manage
authors.forename: Duncan G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Backhouse
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D046209:Electrophoresis, Microchip / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012666:Semiconductors; D000099166:Polyacrylamides
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D004247:DNA; D000099166:Polyacrylamides