Unzipping and shearing DNA with electrophoresed nanoparticles in hydrogels

Abstract

We show electric control of unzipping and shearing dehybridization of a DNA duplex anchored to a hydrogel. Tensile force is applied by electrophoresing (25 V cm⁻¹) gold nanoparticles pulling the DNA duplex. The pulled DNA strand is gradually released from the hydrogel. The unzipping release rate is faster than shearing; for example, 3-fold for a 15 base pair duplex, which helps to design electrically driven DNA devices.