Separation of 4-color DNA sequencing extension products in noncovalently coated capillaries using low viscosity polymer solutions.

A low viscosity (ca. 75cP) solution using polydimethylacrylamide (PDMA) was developed for separating DNA sequencing extension products by capillary electrophoresis (CE). This medium gave a length-of-read (LOR) value of approximately 600 bases in about 2 h using four-color sequencing in 50 microm capillary at 42 degrees C under a field of 160 V/cm. This medium also works in bare capillaries by noncovalently coating the surface to suppress both electroosmotic flow (EOF) and DNA-capillary wall interactions, and eliminates the need for complicated covalent coatings. At least 100 successive sequencing runs were performed in the same capillary by simply pumping fresh medium after every run, without requiring any reconditioning of the capillary surface between runs. The thermal stability of the noncovalent coating can be improved by adding small amounts of high molecular weight PDMA to the separation medium. The advantages of low viscosity separation media and uncoated capillaries are of paramount importance to develop high-throughput instruments for DNA sequencing.

Versatile low-viscosity sieving matrices for nondenaturing DNA separations using capillary array electrophoresis.

The high-resolution separation of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) has important applications in physical mapping strategies and in the analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. Although high-resolution separations of dsDNA by capillary electrophoresis (CE) have been reported, pulsed fields were required to achieve complete resolution of DNA fragments beyond 23 kilobase pairs (kbp). Here, we report a single formulation to separate a broad range (80 bp-40 kbp) of DNA fragments without the use of pulsed fields. We used a low-viscosity sieving medium (ca. 5 cP, at 25 degrees C) based on polyethyleneoxide (PEO) to separate DNA fragments up to 40 kbp. The matrix contained a mixture of 0.5% PEO (Mn 10(6)) to separate fragments up to 1.5 kbp, combined with 0.1% PEO (Mn 8 x 10(6)) to separate fragments between 1-40 kbp, within a single run. All PEO matrix formulations tested were compatible with a variety of intercalating dyes and with two different capillary wall coating methods. We obtained a detection limit of 25 fg of a 200 bp DNA quantitation standard using Vistra Green in the matrix. Resolution was best using short injection times (5 s or less) and low field strengths (approximately 100 V/cm). Sample runs were complete in 70 min, and use of the capillary array electrophoresis (CAE) system permitted high-throughput DNA analysis. The size range separated is approximately 10 times greater than with conventional slab gel separations.