DNA translocation through nanopores with salt gradients: The role of osmotic flow

Recent experiments of translocation of double stranded DNA through nanopores [M. Wanunu $\mathit{\text{et}}\mathit{\text{al.}}$ Nature Nanotech. {\bf 5}, 160 (2010)] reveal that the DNA capture rate can be significantly influenced by a salt gradient across the pore. We show that osmotic flow combined with electrophoretic effects can quantitatively explain the experimental data on the salt-gradient dependence of the capture rate.