SIMULTANEOUS ACTION OF ELECTRIC-FIELDS AND NONELECTRIC FORCES ON A POLYELECTROLYTE - MOTION AND DEFORMATION

We describe the deformation and drift of a charged polymer in solution under the simultaneous action of an electric field and a nonelectric force. This should be of interest for current micromanipulation experi ments on DNA fragments and for electrophoretic separation methods. Our description is qualitatively different from existing theories. The ma in results are (i) that the force to hold a polyelectrolyte immobile i n an electric field E(infinity) is proportional to its 3D size (and no t to its curvilinear length or total charge), and (ii) that its deform ation is then essentially identical to that in a purely hydrodynamic u niform flow of velocity V = mu(el)E(infinity) (mu(el) is the electroph oretic mobility of the polyelectrolyte).