AFFINITY GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS OF NUCLEIC-ACIDS - NUCLEOBASE-SELECTIVE SEPARATION OF DNA AND RNA ON AGAROSE-POLY(9-VINYLADENINE) CONJUGATED GEL

Poly(9-vinyladenine) (PVAd) was immobilized within an agarose gel matr ix to produce a never affinity gel for the base-specific separation of nucleic acids by electrophoresis. The shape (single- or double-strand ed) and base content of nucleic acids were specifically recognized by the affinity gel. Only single stranded DNA, of which the sequence is n ot regular enough to form a stable duplex hairpin structure, was selec tively adsorbed over double-stranded DNA. Among five polynucleotides h aving different bases such as poly(A), poly(G), poly(C), poly(U) and p oly(I), poly(U) and poly(I) were base-specifically adsorbed by PVAd, p robably by hydrogen bond formation. The effect of the molecular mass a nd size of poly(9-vinyladenine) was also examined.