ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY OF REOVIRUS DSRNA - A ROUTINE TECHNIQUE FOR LENGTH MEASUREMENTS

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to image reovirus double stranded RNA (dsRNA) deposited from diluted buffer solution onto a chemically treated mica surface. This procedure allows AFM images of dsRNA molecules to be obtained with a quality close to that obtained with conventional electron microscopy. The length of the molecules were measured directly on a computer display using the digitally acquired images. The lengths of the molecules varied between 0.2 and 1.8-mu-m. Statistical analysis showed a multimodal distribution with clear maxima at 0.4, 0.65 and 1.05-mu-m. These data are in a good agreement with those obtained by electron microscopy and gel electrophoresis.