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. 2023 Dec 30;25(1):542. doi: 10.3390/ijms25010542

Figure 3.

Figure 3

The time-lapse sequence (1–25 min) of AFM images capturing the effect of AuNPs on an individual DNA plasmid in a 0.1× PBS solution. Initially, after 1 min of adding AuNPs to the DNA solution, beads-on-a-string features were observed, likely due to DNA packaging around the AuNPs. Subsequently, at 7 min, the DNA molecule began to fragment at specific positions (a–b and c–d), possibly indicating the formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs). Over time, the length of the b–c fragment decreased, while its height and width increased, suggesting that the DNA molecule was experiencing stress.