Novel electrophoretic methods for concentration and analysis of DNA
Andre Marziali, University of British Columbia
The desire to take advantage of human genomic information for improved
understanding and treatment of disease is driving a continued push toward
inexpensive DNA analysis techniques. Improved techniques for DNA extraction
and analysis may lead to improved early diagnosis of cancer, and to rapid
clinical genotyping of patients for customization of treatment and drug
administration.
We are developing new techniques for DNA extraction and
analysis through novel application of electrophoretic manipulation of
DNA. One of these techniques allows the concentration of DNA in a sample
to be increased at least four orders of magnitude - allowing zeptomolar
detection of nucleic acids - by means of non-linear electrophoresis,
and may have utility for cancer diagnostics and metagenomics. Another
technique uses electrophoretic manipulation of a single DNA strand in
a nanopore to detect and analyze short DNA targets for inexpensive and
rapid genotyping applications. Both techniques and their applications
will be presented.
