Issue 24, 2020

Characterization and minimization of band broadening in DNA electrohydrodynamic migration for enhanced size separation

Abstract

The combination of hydrodynamic actuation with an opposing electrophoretic force in viscoelastic liquids enables the separation, concentration, and purification of DNA. Obtaining good analytical performances despite the use of hydrodynamic flow fields, which dramatically enhance band broadening due to Taylor dispersion, constitutes a paradox that remains to be clarified. Here, we study the mechanism of band broadening in electrohydrodynamic migration with an automated microfluidic platform that allows us to track the migration of a 600 bp band in the pressure-electric field parameter space. We demonstrate that diffusion in the electrohydrodynamic regime is controlled predominantly by the electric field and marginally by the hydrodynamic flow velocity. We explain this response with an analytical model of diffusion based on Taylor dispersion arguments. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the electric field can be modulated over time to monitor and minimize the breadth of a DNA band, and suggest guidelines to enhance the resolution of DNA separation experiments. Altogether, our report is a leap towards to the development of high-performance analytical technologies based on electrohydrodynamic actuation.

Graphical abstract: Characterization and minimization of band broadening in DNA electrohydrodynamic migration for enhanced size separation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Mar 2020
Accepted
02 Jun 2020
First published
03 Jun 2020

Soft Matter, 2020,16, 5640-5649

Characterization and minimization of band broadening in DNA electrohydrodynamic migration for enhanced size separation

J. Teillet, Q. Martinez, I. Tijunelyte, B. Chami and A. Bancaud, Soft Matter, 2020, 16, 5640 DOI: 10.1039/D0SM00475H

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