An exactly solvable Ogston model of gel electrophoresis: VIII. Nonconducting gel fibers, curved field lines, and the Nernst-Einstein relation.

In this article, we examine the low-field electrophoretic migration of infinitely small analytes in dilute sieving media made of nonconducting gel fibers. Using an Ogston obstruction model, we show that the electrophoretic mobility is not affected by the presence of curved field lines. In other words, the Nernst-Einstein relation between the mobility and the diffusion coefficient is valid regardless of the electrical properties of the gel fibers. Although this finding may greatly simplify the development of obstruction models of electrophoretic sieving, it also represents a critical test for any analytical or computational approach.