A new surface design for molecular combing: A dissipative particle dynamics study

Molecular combing facilitates the investigation of single DNA molecules with a moving water-air interface to immobilize DNA molecules on a solid surface. In this study, we use dissipative particle dynamics to model the three-phase system with complex fluids. We visually demonstrated the DNA deposition process and quantitatively described the degree of DNA linearization. Then, we study the effect of the substrate property on the combing results. Finally, we propose a chemical heterogeneous stripe-patterned substrate that can improve the linearization of deposited DNA chains. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.