Picometer-Scale Dynamical X-Ray Imaging of Single DNA Molecules

Abstract

Time-resolved dynamical x-ray imaging of individual DNA molecules with picometer-scale precision is demonstrated for the first time. Diffracted x-ray tracking (DXT), a single-molecule experiment with x rays, monitors the rotating motions, rather than the translational motions, of a labeled nanocrystal. DXT can obtain information about the dynamics of single molecules through a quantitative analysis, since the signals from DXT are independent of the chemical conditions.