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Height measurement of DNA molecules with lift mode AFM

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The height of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is measured by lift mode AFM combined with conventional tap** mode AFM. While the tip scan height is raised step by step, the tip pressure on sample is decreased gradually. As a result, the deformation of the DNA strands decreases, and the height of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule can be deduced by the tip lift height. The measured height of dsDNA is 1.5± 0.2 nm in lift mode, but only 0.8±0.2 nm in conventional tap** mode. This demonstrates that the tip pressure is a key factor in soft sample height measurement resulting in artificating lower values via conventional tap** mode.

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Correspondence to Jielin Sun.

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Guo, Y., Zhou, X., Sun, J. et al. Height measurement of DNA molecules with lift mode AFM. Chin.Sci.Bull. 49, 1574–1577 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03184124

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03184124

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