DNA electrophoresis in a monodisperse porous medium.

Electrophoresis of DNA migrating in an ordered matrix is studied and compared with classical agarose gel electrophoresis. A well-defined migration medium is obtained by crystallization of monodisperse silica spheres. Electrophoretic mobility of DNA is measured with fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments. The main result is that, as it was the case for gel electrophoresis, diffusion and electrophoretic mobility of DNA in such a medium are well described with reptation theories.