Nonequilibrium separation of short DNA using nanoslit arrays

A nonequilibrium regime of size-based separation was observed experimentally for double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules with lengths below 1 kbp moving electrokinetically through nanofluidic nanoslit arrays. The breakdown of Ogston sieving was supplanted at higher electric fields to recover rapid separation with a reversed elution order and elution times one to two orders of magnitude faster than with Ogston sieving at lower fields. A simple kinetic model describes the experimental results. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3183953]