No abstract

We report the orbital rotation of biological cells using two tapered fibre probes. We launched laser beams into the probes at a wavelength of 980 nm and rotated 5 µm-diameter yeast cells and 13.5 µm-diameter human leukemic K562 by optical force. The rotation period varied from 1.59 to 2.41 s for the yeast cells and was 4.83 s for the human leukemic K562. The rotation direction of the cells can be controlled by adjusting the position of the two probes. The experimental results were interpreted by theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.