Patent ID: 8906611

Claim:
A method for elongating a nucleic acid, the method comprising: providing a device comprising a voltage source coupled to a controller, a fluid reservoir, and a charged substrate operably associated with the voltage source and the fluid reservoir, wherein a hydrophobicity of the charged substrate changes in response to an applied electric field and the substrate is coated with a substance that retains the nucleic acid; temporarily applying an electric field via the controller to temporarily decrease the hydrophobicity of the charged substrate, thereby causing a sample fluid comprising the nucleic acid in the fluid reservoir to temporarily flow from the reservoir onto the charged substrate; maintaining the electric field via the controller so that the sample fluid remains on the charged substrate for a time sufficient to allow a sufficient amount of the nucleic acid to interact with the charged substrate and become elongated and fixed on the substrate; and turning-off the electric field via the controller to thereby increase the hydrophobicity of the charged substrate and cause the sample fluid to flow back into the reservoir while the elongated and fixed nucleic acid remains on the charged substrate.