Transiently bonding drag-tags for separation modalities

A method of separating nucleic acids:

• a. elongating a nucleic acid primer on a nucleic acid template, the primer comprising a lipophilic moiety covalently attached to a nucleic acid, thereby forming a plurality of hydrophobically-labeled nucleic acids, wherein the lipophilic moiety is an alkyl group;
• b. placing the plurality of hydrophobically-labeled nucleic acids in a running buffer comprising a drag-tag, wherein the drag-tag comprises a structure, and wherein the structure comprises a surfactant, a polymer or combinations thereof;
• c. applying an electric field to the running buffer for a period of time;
• d. forming a lipophilic interaction between the lipophilic moiety and the drag-tag for a portion of the period of time;
• e. terminating the lipophilic interaction formed during step (c) during the period of time;
• f. repeating steps (c) and (d) throughout at least a portion of the period of time;
• and
• g. discontinuing the electric field.