TY - JOUR ID - 10442/12827 A1 - Wildes, A. A1 - A1 - Theodorakopoulos, N. A1 - A1 - Valle-Orero, J. A1 - A1 - Cuesta-Lopez, S. A1 - A1 - Garden, J.-L. A1 - A1 - Peyrard, M. Y1 - 2011/// T1 - Structural correlations and melting of B-DNA fibers JF - Physical Review E VL - 83 IS - 6 SN - 1539-3755 U3 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.83.061923 PB - American Physical Society SP - [11]EP - UR - https://hdl.handle.net/10442/12827 N2 - Despite numerous attempts, understanding the thermal denaturation of DNA is still a challenge due to the lack of structural data on the transition since standard experimental approaches to DNA melting are made in solution and do not provide spatial information. We report a measurement using neutron scattering from oriented DNA fibers to determine the size of the regions that stay in the double-helix conformation as the melting temperature is approached from below. A Bragg peak from the B form of DNA is observed as a function of temperature and its width and integrated intensity are measured. These results, complemented by a differential calorimetry study of the melting of B-DNA fibers as well as electrophoresis and optical observation data, are analyzed in terms of a one-dimensional mesoscopic model of DNA. ER -