Role of Nanocomposite Hydrogel Morphology in Electrophoretic Separation of Biomolecules: Review

In gel-electrophoresis, the internal morphology of the gel plays an important role in improving the separation of biomolecules such as DNA and proteins. Gel morphology may be changed by the concentration of the monomer in the gel, polymerization using a template and by the addition of nanoparticles of different characteristics to the gel matrix. This review focuses exclusively on nanocomposite gels, and models of polyelectrolyte transport that are potentially useful to understand the novel material behavior under different conditions. In this contribution, we provide the first systematic classification of nanocomposite gels according to the nanoparticle used, identify different scales involved in biomolecule transport in these materials, and provide a taxanomy of transport models useful to explain the role of gel morphology on determining both polyelectrolyte diffusion and mobility.