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Scanning tunnelling microscopy of biomacromolecules
Author(s) -
Guckenberger Reinhard,
Wiegräbe Winfried,
Baumeister Wolfgang
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1988.tb01451.x
Subject(s) - coating , materials science , layer (electronics) , platinum , deinococcus radiodurans , scanning electron microscope , crystallography , microscopy , nanotechnology , chemistry , optics , composite material , physics , biochemistry , catalysis , gene
SUMMARY When imaging biomacromolecules with a STM, coating of specimens with a conductive layer is a convenient preparation method which provides a good rate of success. Utilizing evaporated platinum/carbon as a coating film we have investigated two biomacromolecules of very different appearance. The first of these is the HPI‐layer, a natural two‐dimensional protein crystal with a period of 18 nm, which is found on the surface of the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. The second specimen is type IV collagen which forms long triple‐helical strands approx. 1·5nm in diameter. The resulting STM pictures compare very well with electron microscopical images.