The Effect of Coating Materials on the Separation of DNA Fragments Using Capillary Electrophoresis

초록

We investigated DNA separations by capillary electrophoresis using coating materials that differ in linear alkyl-group size and silanizing reagent. Because the mechanism of DNA separation in capillary electrophoresis is not well understood, selection of coating material is a "trial-and-error" procedure. By the introduction of Si-O-Si linkages, low optical loss materials suitable for device-quality applications have been obtained. However, they are unstable as the pH increases, which is the favorable condition for high resolution. In this study, several coating materials, such as chlorotrimethylsilane, n-butyldimethylchlorosilane, chlorodimethyloctylsilane, t-butyldimethylchlorosilane, triethylchlorosilane and chlorodimethylvinylsilane, have been evaluated experimentally to produce a coating with high resistance to the separation conditions. These coatings were tested for resolution, efficiencies, stability and reproducibility.