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Visualization of Recombinant DNA and Protein Complexes Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: July 18, 2011
A convenient method of aligning large DNA molecules on bare mica surfaces for atomic force microscopy
1The Institute of Chemistry, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China and The Institute of Biophysics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100171, China.
Abstract:
Large DNA molecules remain difficult to be imaged by atomic force microscopy (AFM) because of the tendency of aggregation. A method is described to align long DNA fibers in a single direction on unmodified mica to facilitate AFM studies. The clear background, minimal overstretching, high reproducibility and convenience of this aligning procedure make it useful for physical mapping of genome regions and the studies of DNA-protein complexes.

