BIASED REPTATION OF POLYAMPHOLYTES - TRAPPING AND ENHANCEMENT EFFECTS

We consider the dynamics of polyampholytes (PAs, polymers containing p ositive and negative charges) in a fixed network (gel), Under the infl uence of an external electrical field a PA undergoes a biased reptatio n; the electrophoretic mobility of the chain depends crucially on the given charge distribution. This effect, which does not occur for equal ly charged polymers (polyelectrolytes, e.g., DNA) leads to an effectiv e separation of PAs according to their charge distribution-even for PA s of the same length and the same overall charge. (C) 1997 American In stitute of Physics.