Controlled Mechanical Motions of Microparticles in Optical Tweezers

Abstract

Optical tweezers, formed by a highly focused laser beam, have intriguing applications in biology and physics. Inspired by molecular rotors, numerous optical beams and artificial particles have been proposed to build optical tweezers trapping microparticles, and extensive experiences have been learned towards constructing precise, stable, flexible and controllable micromachines. The mechanism of interaction between particles and localized light fields is quite different for different types of particles, such as metal particles, dielectric particles and Janus particles. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview of the latest development on the fundamental and application of optical trapping. The emphasis is placed on controllable mechanical motions of particles, including rotation, translation and their mutual coupling under the optical forces and torques created by a wide variety of optical tweezers operating on different particles. Finally, we conclude by proposing promising directions for future research.

Realization of a motility-trap for active particles

“…Compared to Brownian particles, the application of optical traps is not straightforward, partly because APs are typically composed of nonuniform dielectric materials, including partial metallic coatings, which lead to non-isotropic optical forces and strong light scattering effects. Accordingly, present trapping mechanisms of APs require the presence of pores and walls [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] , external forces 22,23,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] , or the presence of other particles 40,41 .…”

Nonlinear Optical Tweezers As an Optical Method for Controlling Particles with High Trap Efficiency

“…The proposed NOTOD is not only compact, having high optical efficiency, but also a flexible tool for optical method to control trapped bead in space and to stretch different kind of DNA molecules. Using organic dye with high nonlinearity, the optical trap efficiency of NOTOD is high enough, which can trap nanoparticle [21,22] and stretch DNA molecule [44][45][46][47], instead of using ultrafast pulsed laser.…”

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“…Fruto de esta actividad investigadora ha sido la generación de distintos tejidos artificiales como córnea (14) , piel (15,16), mucosa oral (17), nervio periférico (18), paladar (19), cartílago (20), etc. utilizando distintos tipos celulares, biomateriales , procesos de biofabricación (21,22,23) y protocolos de control de calidad de los que se ha dado cuenta en publicaciones científicas (24, 25,26,27,28,29,30).…”

“…Enfermedades inflamatorias, sistémicas como lupus, Crohn, colitis ulcerosa, poliarteritis nudosa, sarcoidosis, Churg-Strauss, granulomatosis de Wegener, artritis reumatoide, enfermedad de Kawasaki, arteritis de células gigantes, enfermedad celiaca y el hipotiroidismo. (21,22). Tienen un buen pronóstico, con excelente supervivencia, con una tasa de recurrencia bastante elevada ( 27% a los 5 años) (23).…”

“…En base a los citados principios de interacción luzpartículas, se puede: i) estudiar movimientos mecánicos controlables de las mismas incluida la rotación, la traslación y su acoplamiento mutuo bajo las fuerzas fotònica así como los pares creados por las pinzas ópticas que operan sobre diferentes tipos de partículas; ii) atrapar, analizar y/o tratar las partículas tales como proteínas individualizadamente, moléculas sencillas de ADN o ARN o estudiar las interacciones de proteínas con drogas de pocas moléculas con ADN, ARN; se estudian las interacciones ADN-proteína o ADN-péptido [20]. Asimismo, se están desarrollando micromáquinas inspiradas en rotores moleculares, entre otras [21]. Todo ello, facilita y sobre todo facilitará, avances sustanciales del conocimiento y de la tecnología que contribuirán al logro de avances relevantes en las ciencias de la vida y de la salud.…”