Measuring the Confinement Free Energy and Effective Width of Single Polymer Chains via Single-Molecule Tetris

We perform single-molecule partitioning measurements of the free energy of chain confinement and self-exclusion as a function of confinement dimension and buffer ionic strength via single-molecule Tetris. Individual DNA chains, confined in a nanoslit with a lattice of embedded nanocavities, partition their contour between the cavities. Changes in device geometry and buffer chemistry lead to changes in the number of cavities occupied. We are able...