{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T18:43:36Z","timestamp":1785437016618,"version":"3.56.0"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"group-title":"Biochemistry","reference-count":40,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"award":["R35GM124720"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R35GM124720"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04q48ey07","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Gel electrophoresis has been a cornerstone laboratory technique for decades, yet it is often viewed as cumbersome, costly, and has remained confined to laboratory settings. Recent advances in DNA nanotechnology have repurposed electrophoresis as a primary readout for some biosensing applications such as DNA nanoswitches, where a conformational change in a DNA structure indicates the presence of a target molecule. Conventional gel electrophoresis setups not ideal for such targeted applications, with moderate equipment cost, excessive reagent use, and time-consuming processes. Here, we adopt a reductionist, application-driven approach to redesign gel electrophoresis specifically for DNA nanoswitch-based detection. We present a fully 3D-printable mini gel electrophoresis system that incorporates conductive plastic electrodes, demonstrating performance comparable to conventional systems using platinum electrodes. By optimizing the inter-electrode distance and running parameters, our system resolves the on\/off states of DNA nanoswitches in as little as one minute. We further show that the device operates reliably at low voltages, including when powered by a USB power bank, and even enables instrument-free nanoswitch readout using an LED with a cell-phone camera. Our design substantially reduces the cost, voltage requirements, material usage, operational complexity, and experiment time. These improvements make gel-based biosensing more practical outside traditional laboratory environments, paving the way for broader adoption of gel electrophoresis in point-of-care and resource-limited settings.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.01.21.700818","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]],"date-time":"2026-01-24T01:45:31Z","timestamp":1769219131000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["A 3D printed mini-gel electrophoresis system for rapid and inexpensive DNA nanoswitch biosensing"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1539-4108","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vinod","family":"Morya","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222 USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrew","family":"Hayden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222 USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lifeng","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222 USA"},{"name":"School of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dadrian","family":"Cole","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222 USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2578-1339","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ken","family":"Halvorsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222 USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"54368","reference":[{"key":"2026020503122615000_2026.01.21.700818v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0005-2787(72)90426-1"},{"key":"2026020503122615000_2026.01.21.700818v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/nar\/18.6.1587"},{"key":"2026020503122615000_2026.01.21.700818v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2144\/btn-2021-0094"},{"key":"2026020503122615000_2026.01.21.700818v1.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Magdeldin, S. 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