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News From the Field

Not-So-Precious: Stripping Gold From AFM Probes Allows Better Measurement of Picoscale Forces


June 27, 2012

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Gold is not necessarily precious--at least not as a coating on atomic force microscope (AFM) probes. JILA researchers found that removing an AFM probe's gold coating--until now considered helpful--greatly improved force measurements performed in a liquid, the medium favored for biophysical studies such as stretching DNA or unfolding proteins.Full Story

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National Institute of Standards and Technology

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