Controlling the motion of DNA in a nanochannel with transversal alternating electric voltages

A nanofluidic channel, with a pair of perpendicularly aligned nanoelectrodes, is proposed to electrically control the motion of DNA molecules. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we studied electrostatic responses of a charged DNA molecule in the nanochannel and investigated optimized operating conditions for controlling the DNA molecule. When the transversal electric field was periodically turned on and off, the DNA molecule was correspondingly immobilized on and released from the channel surface. Under simultaneously applied longitudinal biasing and transversal trapping electric fields, the DNA molecule moved forward in a 'ratchet'-like fashion. It is expected that achieving the controlled motion of DNA in the channel can advance studies and applications of a nanochannel-based sensor for analyzing DNA (e.g., DNA sequencing). © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.