Precise discrimination among homologous sequences by DNA probe column chromatography.

Synthesized oligo probes were immobilized to a HPLC gel in high concentrations (30-40 O.D. per gram dry gel), packed in a column (2mm x 10cm) and incorporated into a conventional HPLC system. The system was applied to the discrimination among homologous sequences. Two probes different in sequence and length (16mer and 24mer) were investigated under isothermal and isocratic conditions. For each probe, 4 oligos of similar sequences, one perfectly matched to the probe and others containing one mismatch in the center of the chain, were synthesized. The chromatogram obtained as the results of high performance liquid affinity chromatography (HPLAC) considerably varied with the column temperature and the type of mismatches. The dependency of the deformation of elution profile upon mismatch seemed to reflect the stability of the hybrid composed of samples and immobilized probe.