DNA Electrophoresis on Nanopatterned Surfaces

We present a new technology that uses nanopatterned surfaces to separate DNA. This technology eliminates the need for disposable separation media (i.e., gels or polymer solutions that are susceptible to degradation and are difficult to load into small devices due to their inherent high viscosity). We demonstrate using molecular dynamics simulations and experiments that this method can simultaneously separate a broad band of DNA ranging from a few hundred base pairs (bp) through genomic size without a loss in resolution.