Atomic Force Microscopy Measurement of DNA Fragment Induced by Heavy Ions

Choosing ⁷Li and ¹²C heavy ions respectively with different linear energy transfer (LET) values, purified plasmid DNA samples in aqueous solution are irradiated with various doses. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used for analysis of DNA fragments induced by both the kinds of heavy ions. There is a change of three forms of DNA, i.e. supercoiled, open circular and linear form, as the dose is observed. The distribution function of DNA fragment length is obtained for the first time and fitted with the Tsallis entropy statistical theory. The result indicates that AFM is a useful tool for analysis of the short fragment of DNA, high-LET heavy ion radiation induces DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) more effectively, and the distributions of the DSBs are more local and dense in comparison with low-LET radiation.