The ergodicity question when imaging DNA conformation using liquid cell electron microscopy
Jia‐Ye Li, Fan Liu, Jing Xu, Ye‐Jin Kim, Oh‐Hoon Kwon, Bin Xia, Huan Wang, Steve Granick
Abstract
Assessing the ergodicity of graphene liquid cell electron microscope measurements, we report that loop states of circular DNA interconvert reversibly and that loop numbers follow the Boltzmann distribution expected for this molecule in bulk solution, provided that the electron dose is low (80-keV electron energy and electron dose rate 1–20 e − Å −2 s −1 ). This imaging technique appears to act as a “slow motion” camera that reveals equilibrated distributions by imaging the time average of a few molecules without the need to image a spatial ensemble.
Topics & Concepts
Electron microscopeErgodicityElectronGrapheneMoleculeMicroscopyChemistryPhysicsMolecular physicsAtomic physicsMaterials scienceChemical physicsNanotechnologyOpticsQuantum mechanicsAdvanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsElectron and X-Ray Spectroscopy TechniquesAdvanced X-ray Imaging Techniques