期刊名称:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN:0027-8424
电子版ISSN:1091-6490
出版年度:1993
卷号:90
期号:6
页码:2137-2140
DOI:10.1073/pnas.90.6.2137
语种:English
出版社:The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要:We have obtained striking atomic force microscopy images of the intact lambda bacteriophage genome and of several lambda restriction fragments both in air and under water. The DNA is unstained and the images are stable under continuous scanning for up to 30 min. Measured contour lengths of fully imaged restriction fragments and intact lambda DNA are accurate to within a few percent. The key to this development is the use of a process for binding unmodified double-stranded DNA to chemically treated mica surfaces. This procedure leads to strong DNA attachment and yields high-quality images that are stable under repeated scanning, even with the sample submerged in water. This allows normal hydration conditions to be maintained during scanning and in addition leads to a general improvement of image quality. Both the lateral resolution and the contrast increase by a factor of approximately 3 under water.