title: Imaging isolated strands of DNA molecules by atomic force microscopy.
abstract: We have employed an atomic force microscope (AFM) to image in air isolated strands of pBS+ plasmid DNA adsorbed onto freshly cleaved mica. At a DNA concentration below 0.3 micrograms/ml isolated strands of the plasmid DNA are usually seen, while for concentrations higher than 3 micrograms/ml a uniform coverage of interconnected DNA strands was observed. We found that the contrast and the width of DNA were dependent upon humidity. When the relative humidity exceeds 60%, negative contrast images with strand widths 20 times the width of DNA are found, while positive contrast images with 7 to 10 times the width of DNA are found when the humidity is below 30%. By placing the AFM in an environment where the humidity could be controlled, we were able to switch between positive and negative contrasts.
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN 37831.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thundat
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Warmack
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Ferrell
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D010957:Plasmids; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D014867:Water; C011934:mica