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Effects of DNA charge and length on the electrophoretic mobility of intercalated DNA
Author(s) -
Reese Howard R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.360341007
Subject(s) - ethidium bromide , intercalation (chemistry) , chemistry , electrophoresis , propidium iodide , charge density , dna , agarose , agarose gel electrophoresis , iodide , electric field , gel electrophoresis of nucleic acids , electrophoretic mobility shift assay , analytical chemistry (journal) , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatography , biochemistry , inorganic chemistry , physics , apoptosis , gene expression , quantum mechanics , programmed cell death , biology , gene
DNA molecules ranging in size from 1 to 630 kilobase pair and intercalated with either ethidium bromide (EtBr) or propidium iodide (PI) were electrophoresed in 1% agarose at four different electric field strengths. The extent of intercalation of EtBr under the conditions of our electrophoresis experiments was determined by a spectroscopic technique, whereas the extent of intercalation of PI was inferred from previous studies. The effects of the increase in DNA contour length and the concomitant decrease of linear charge density were separated based on our analysis of the mobility data. We conclude that the main factor responsible for the reduced electrophoretic mobility of intercalated DNA is the diminished linear charge density and not the increased contour length. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.