Transfer Learning‐Empowered High‐Throughput Atomic Force Microscopy Structural Analysis of DNA Nanostructures

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become an indispensable tool for characterizing DNA nanostructures. However, conventional AFM analysis relies heavily on manual operation, which is inherently time‐consuming and prone to subjective bias. Herein, a transfer learning‐assisted AFM single‐particle analysis (AFMSPA) tool is presented, which enables automated high‐throughput AFM structural analysis of DNA origami nanostructures. AFMSPA leverages a U‐Net‐based neural network trained on experimentally acquired datasets to automatically detect and classify individual DNA origami in raw AFM images. It further enables the on‐demand extraction of morphological parameters by users. The tool currently supports fully automated quantitative analysis for four representative 2D DNA origami nanostructures, i.e., triangle, rectangle, hexagon, and diatom, each achieving a detection accuracy above 0.95. Moreover, by integrating a human‐in‐the‐loop transfer learning strategy, AFMSPA can be readily adapted to a broad range of DNA origami nanostructures, offering a scalable solution for the statistical analysis of AFM datasets in the field of self‐assembled nanomaterials.

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Publication Details

Journal
Small Structures
Published
2025-08-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/sstr.202500274
Primary Topic
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Transfer Learning‐Empowered High‐Throughput Atomic Force Microscopy Structural Analysis of DNA Nanostructures

Small Structures
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
article

Transfer Learning‐Empowered High‐Throughput Atomic Force Microscopy Structural Analysis of DNA Nanostructures

article en

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has become an indispensable tool for characterizing DNA nanostructures. However, conventional AFM analysis relies heavily on manual operation, which is inherently time‐consuming and prone to subjective bias. Herein, a transfer learning‐assisted AFM single‐particle analysis (AFMSPA) tool is presented, which enables automated high‐throughput AFM structural analysis of DNA origami nanostructures. AFMSPA leverages a U‐Net‐based neural network trained on experimentally acquired datasets to automatically detect and classify individual DNA origami in raw AFM images. It further enables the on‐demand extraction of morphological parameters by users. The tool currently supports fully automated quantitative analysis for four representative 2D DNA origami nanostructures, i.e., triangle, rectangle, hexagon, and diatom, each achieving a detection accuracy above 0.95. Moreover, by integrating a human‐in‐the‐loop transfer learning strategy, AFMSPA can be readily adapted to a broad range of DNA origami nanostructures, offering a scalable solution for the statistical analysis of AFM datasets in the field of self‐assembled nanomaterials.

Small StructuresVol. 6(11)
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Renji Hospital (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Openalex Percentile: Top 43%
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
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Transfer Learning‐Empowered High‐Throughput Atomic Force Microscopy Structural Analysis of DNA Nanostructures · Small Structures (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS