Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

DNA height in scanning force microscopy.

F Moreno-Herrero1, J Colchero, A M Baró

  • 1Laboratorio de Nuevas Microscopías, Departamento de Física de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain. fernando.moreno@uam.es

Ultramicroscopy
|April 4, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Supramolecular Assembly of Human Pulmonary Surfactant Protein SP-D.

Journal of molecular biology·2018
Same author

Force determination in lateral magnetic tweezers combined with TIRF microscopy.

Nanoscale·2018
Same author

Localized charge imaging with scanning Kelvin probe microscopy.

Nanotechnology·2016
Same author

Assessment of Polarity in GaN Self-Assembled Nanowires by Electrical Force Microscopy.

Nano letters·2015
Same author

Using DNA as a fiducial marker to study SMC complex interactions with the atomic force microscope.

Biophysical journal·2012
Same author

Nanoscale surface photovoltage of organic semiconductors with two pass Kelvin probe microscopy.

Nanotechnology·2011
Same journal

Predictive drift compensation of multi-frame STEM via live scan modification.

Ultramicroscopy·2026
Same journal

Deep PACBED: Multitask analysis of PACBED images using deep neural networks.

Ultramicroscopy·2026
Same journal

Guided progressive reconstructive imaging: A new quantization-based framework for low-dose, high-throughput and real-time analytical ptychography.

Ultramicroscopy·2026
Same journal

Brightness optimization in a 200 keV DTEM source by geometry-driven aberration suppression.

Ultramicroscopy·2026
Same journal

Characterization of the Timepix4 hybrid pixel detector and its impact on four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM).

Ultramicroscopy·2026
Same journal

Contamination analysis of the residual gas composition in transmission electron microscopy.

Ultramicroscopy·2026
See all related articles

Scanning probe microscopy underestimates DNA height due to salt layers and sample deformation. Removing the salt layer and minimizing dehydration effects improves height measurements of DNA molecules.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) measurements of DNA height on mica are consistently lower than theoretical values.
  • This discrepancy is often attributed to imaging artifacts and sample preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the causes of underestimated DNA height measurements using SPM.
  • To differentiate the contributions of salt layers and sample deformation to measurement errors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized two SPM techniques: non-contact tapping mode in air and jumping mode in aqueous solution.
  • Performed experiments with and without the salt layer, and at varying applied forces.

Main Results:

  • In air, DNA height increased from 0.7±0.2 nm to 1.5±0.2 nm after salt layer removal.

Related Experiment Videos

  • In water, DNA height ranged from 1.4±0.3 nm to 1.8±0.2 nm, confirming salt layer removal.
  • Even after accounting for the salt layer, measured DNA height remained less than theoretical values.

    • Conclusions:

    • The salt layer significantly distorts SPM height measurements of adsorbed DNA.
    • Sample deformation due to tip-sample interactions or substrate loading also contributes to measurement errors.
    • Accurate DNA height determination requires careful consideration of both salt layer effects and sample compressibility.