Nanomaterials and chip-based nanostructures for capillary electrophoretic separations of DNA

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) and microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) using polymer solutions are two of the most powerful techniques for the analysis of DNA. Problems, such as the difficulty of filling polymer solution to small separation channels, recovering DNA, and narrow separation size ranges, have put a pressure on developing new techniques for DNA analysis. In this review, we deal with DNA separation using chip-based nanostructures and nanomaterials in CE and MCE. On the basis of the dependence of the mobility of DNA molecules on the size and shape of nanostructures, several unique chip-based devices have been developed for the separation of DNA, particularly for long DNA molecules. Unlike conventional CE and MCE methods, sieving matrices are not required when using nanostructures. Filling extremely low-viscosity nanomaterials in the presence and absence of polymer solutions to small separation channels is an alternative for the separations of DNA from several base pairs (bp) to tens kbp. The advantages and shortages of the use of nanostructured devices and nanomaterials for DNA separation are carefully addressed with respect to speed, resolution, reproducibility, costs, and operation.