CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS OF DNA IN ENTANGLED POLYMER-SOLUTIONS

Electrophoretic separations of DNA restriction fragments were performed in solutions of hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) using capillary electrophoresis. Rheological studies confirmed that the entanglement threshold (PHI*) for the solution is ca. 0.003 g/ml, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. A mesh size an order of magnitude smaller than that found in agarose gels was calculated using polymer-entanglement theory and was confirmed by electrophoretic measurements. Electrophoretic migration was shown to follow the Ogston regime under most conditions. An approach for obtaining smaller mesh sizes is presented.