title: Controlling the motion of DNA in a nanochannel with transversal alternating electric voltages.
abstract: A nanofluidic channel, with a pair of perpendicularly aligned nanoelectrodes, is proposed to electrically control the motion of DNA molecules. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we studied electrostatic responses of a charged DNA molecule in the nanochannel and investigated optimized operating conditions for controlling the DNA molecule. When the transversal electric field was periodically turned on and off, the DNA molecule was correspondingly immobilized on and released from the channel surface. Under simultaneously applied longitudinal biasing and transversal trapping electric fields, the DNA molecule moved forward in a 'ratchet'-like fashion. It is expected that achieving the controlled motion of DNA in the channel can advance studies and applications of a nanochannel-based sensor for analyzing DNA (e.g., DNA sequencing).
authors.affiliation: IBM T J Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, 10598, USA.
authors.forename: Binquan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Royyuru
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stolovitzky
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D009038:Motion; D049329:Nanostructures; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004247:DNA