Functional fractionation-ratchets

Electrophoretic ratchets have been developed for both analytical and preparative electrophoresis. These ratchets use a new type of pulsed field. The quality of the fractionations meets the usual standards for biochemistry-based electrophoresis. The supporting medium is either an agarose gel or a capillary-contained polymer solution. The electrophoretic ratchets are effective with a particle that has an electrophoretic mobility (μ=velocity/electrical field) that varies as the electrical field varies. A ratchet developed for DNA molecules is effective because μ increases in magnitude as the electrical field increases in magnitude. Ratchets developed for both DNA–protein complexes and spheres are effective because of the opposite dependence of μ on the electrical field. Ratchet-based gel electrophoresis can be performed in a continuous, preparative mode. Ratchet-based capillary electrophoresis provides a necessary component for cyclic capillary electrophoresis. Cyclic capillary electrophoresis of DNA is a procedure for analyzing a DNA profile in several segments. These segments are separated by electrophoretic enhancements of the DNA profile. Cyclic capillary electrophoresis is being developed for increasing both the length and the accuracy of the analysis of a DNA-sequencing ladder. Received: 16 October 2001 / Accepted: 14 January 2002 / Published online: 22 April 2002