SKM 2023 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 28: Poster Session II

BP 28.14: Poster

Thursday, March 30, 2023, 18:00–20:00, P2/EG

Imaging Soft-Landed DNA-Aggregates — •Isabelle Legge, Jovana Pepic, Tim Esser, Márkó Grabarics, and Stephan Rauschenbach — Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) is involved in important biological processes including replication, encoding information and gene expression. The helical structure of DNA double strands is well known but the superstructure of more complex assemblies such as DNA origami can be challenging to characterise by averaging techniques. Therefore, a versatile, yet practical, sample preparation technique is needed to make DNA-based molecules accessible to high-resolution, single-molecule imaging by atomic force microscopy (AFM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Here, we use electrospray ion-beam deposition (ESIBD) to produce clean samples of single- and double-stranded DNA or DNA origami to enable AFM and TEM imaging, providing information on structure, conformation and revealing the mechanical properties. We discuss the advantages and limitations of this approach to improve the understanding of the function of these molecules.