SINGLE-MOLECULE ELECTROPHORESIS

A novel method for the detection and identification of single molecule s in solution has been devised, computer simulated, and experimentally achieved. The technique involves the determination of electrophoretic velocities by measuring the time required for individual molecules to travel a fixed distance between two laser beams. Computer simulations of the process were performed beforehand in order to estimate the exp erimental feasibility of the method and to determine the optimum value s for the various experimental parameters. Examples of the use of the technique for the ultrasensitive detection and identification of rhoda mine-6G, a mixture of DNA restriction fragments, and a mixture of prot eins in aqueous solution are presented.