Scanning tunneling microscopy of metal-coated biomolecules

Ricardo Garcia; Yiqui Jiang; David Dunlap; Carlos J. Bustamante

doi:10.1117/12.58180

1 May 1992 Scanning tunneling microscopy of metal-coated biomolecules

Ricardo Garcia, Yiqui Jiang, David Dunlap, Carlos J. Bustamante

Proceedings Volume 1639, Scanning Probe Microscopies; (1992) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.58180
Event: OE/LASE '92, 1992, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

We present a procedure for imaging metal-coated biomolecules with the scanning tunneling microscope. This procedure is simple, easy to implement and gives reproducible results. The biomolecules are adsorbed on glow discharged mica, then coated with a thin film of platinum- carbon. We have applied this method for visualizing two different kind of biomolecules: planar membranes and DNA molecules. The contrast and lateral resolution of the images are comparable to electron micrographs of the same molecules. The lateral resolution is limited by the grain size of the coating film while the vertical resolution seems to be unaffected for very small coating thickness (less than 3 nm).

Citation Download Citation

Ricardo Garcia, Yiqui Jiang, David Dunlap, and Carlos J. Bustamante "Scanning tunneling microscopy of metal-coated biomolecules", Proc. SPIE 1639, Scanning Probe Microscopies, (1 May 1992); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.58180

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