The chromatography of nucleic acid preparations on deae-cellulose paper. I. Fractionation of deoxyribonucleic acid on paper strips or on centrifuged paper pulp

A method is described for the fractionation fo DNA preparations on DEAE- cellulose paper. This paper can be used as strips or as centrifuged paper pulp. In both cases, similar results are obtaiend. The reproducbility and the senstivity of the fractionation are very high. During the fractionation process, the desorption of the macromolecular species is complete. Some of the fractions obtained can be rechromatographed and eluted in the same position. The additivity of the fractions evidences their preexistence in the preparation. The use of cellophane strips enables the complate fractionation to be run in ten hours; with centrifuged paper pulp, a complete elution requires two hours. The physicochemical properties of the DEAE-cellulose paper allow a desorption of the highest molecular weight DNA molecules at neutral pH. These results are discussed and several examples of fractionation of polynucleotides derived from DNA are given.