Tunnelling microscopy of DNA

Uncoated DNA molecules marked with an activated tris (1-aziridinyl) phosphine oxide (TAPO) solution were deposited on gold substrates and imaged in air with a high resolution Scanning Tunnelling Microscope (STM). The STM operated simultaneously in the constant-current and gap-modulated mode. Highly reproducible STM images have been obtained and interpreted in terms of expected DNA structure. The main periodicity, regularly presented in molecules several hundred Ångstrom long, ranges from 25 Å to 35 Å with an average diameter of 22 Å. Higher resolution images of the minor groove have revealed the phosphate groups along the DNA backbones. Constant-current images of TAPO deposited on gold show a crystalline structure of rows of molecules with a side-by-side spacing of 3 Å.