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Micro‐mechanical measurement of the torsional modulus of DNA

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Abstract

The torsional modulus C of DNA is determined from the difference between the work of stretching a single overwound molecule and the work done in stretching one underwound by the same number of turns. The value obtained C/kBT=86±10 nm is within the range (75±25 nm) estimated by more indirect methods.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LPS, ENS, UMR 8550 CNRS, associé aux Universités Paris VI et Paris VII, 24 rue Lhomond, 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France

    T.R. Strick, D. Bensimon & V. Croquette

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  1. T.R. Strick
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  2. D. Bensimon
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  3. V. Croquette
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Strick, T., Bensimon, D. & Croquette, V. Micro‐mechanical measurement of the torsional modulus of DNA. Genetica 106, 57–62 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003772626927

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003772626927

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