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. 1990 Dec;87(23):9343–9347. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.23.9343

Thickness determination of biological samples with a zeta-calibrated scanning tunneling microscope.

Z H Wang 1, T Hartmann 1, W Baumeister 1, R Guckenberger 1
PMCID: PMC55161  PMID: 2251276

Abstract

A single-tube scanning tunneling microscope has been zeta-calibrated by using atomic steps of crystalline gold and was used for measuring the thickness of two biological samples, metal-coated as well as uncoated. The hexagonal surface layer of the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans with an open network-type structure shows thickness values that are strongly influenced by the substrate and the preparation method. In contrast, the thickness of the purple membrane of Halobacterium halobium with its densely packed less-corrugated structure exhibits very little variation in thickness in coated preparations and the values obtained are in good agreement with x-ray data.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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