MONITORING AND ANALYSIS OF ANTISENSE DNA BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE CAPILLARY GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

The use of antisense DNA to modulate human immunodeficiency virus gene expression in vitro has increased the need for analytical methods to support clinical studies. High-performance capillary electrophoresis and slab gel electrophoresis are useful methods for the analysis. Especially important is low level and rapid monitoring of phosphorothioate DNA (SODNs) in biological fluids. The method presented here is based on Watson-Crick hydribization between phosphodiester and the target DNA. Various techniques of staining or labeling are investigated to improve detection limits. The sensitivity of this method is 0.1 ng/ml.