ABSTRACT
Pitfalls ....................................................................................................... 243 12.2.3 Chemical Modification of Mica ............................................................................ 244
12.2.3.1 Chemical Modification of Mica: Silanization with APTES ............... 244 12.2.3.2 Mica Functionalization with 1-(3-Aminopropyl)Silatrane-
APS-Mica Method ................................................................................... 245 12.3 AFM Study of Branched DNA and RNA Molecules .................................................... 246
12.3.1 AFM Imaging of Structure and Dynamics of Three-Way DNA Junctions ... 246 12.3.2 AFM Imaging of Four-Way DNA Junctions ...................................................... 247 12.3.3 AFM Imaging of DNA Nanostructures and Arrays ........................................ 248 12.3.4 Self-Assembled RNA Nanostructures ................................................................250
12.4 Beyond Imaging: Unfolding, Unbinding, and Probing Single RNA Molecules by AFM ................................................................................................................................253 12.4.1 Unfolding Single RNA ..........................................................................................253 12.4.2 Unbinding Single RNA .........................................................................................254 12.4.3 AFM Tip as Highly Sensitive Sensor to Extract Single mRNA from
