DNA in nanochannels--directly visualizing genomic information.

The power of nanofluidic channels to analyze DNA is described along with practical experimental hints. As an introduction, a general overview is given on conventional DNA analysis tools, as well as tools under development towards the $1000 genome. The focus of this tutorial review is the stretching of DNA in nanoscale channels for coarse-grained mapping of DNA. To understand the behavior of the DNA, basic theory is discussed. Experimental details are revealed so that the reader, with the proper equipment, should be able to perform experiments. Basic approaches to the analysis of the data are discussed. Finally, potential future directions are discussed including the application of melting mapping as a simple barcode for the DNA.