Single DNA molecule denaturation using laser-induced heating.

This paper proposes targeted in situ denaturation through laser-induced heating to partially amplify relevant sequences from a long DNA strand. It uses 5 kb of DNA as a sample, labeling both strands with quantum dots, with one strand immobilized on a solid surface. We irradiated a targeted DNA sequence with a focused infrared laser to elevate its temperature, monitoring the process by microscope. The denaturation was detected in real time by separating quantum dots on each strand. Results showed that complete separation of the strands occurred within a few seconds of laser irradiation, which raised the temperature to approximately 90 °C.