Cisplatin induces loop structures and condensation of single DNA molecules

Structural properties of single lambda DNA treated with anti-cancer drug cisplatin were studied with magnetic tweezers and AFM. Under the effect of low-concentration cisplatin, the DNA became more flexible, with the persistence length decreased significantly from approximately 52 to 15 nm. At a high drug concentration, a DNA condensation phenomenon was observed. Based on experimental results from both single-molecule and AFM studies, we propose...