 |
|
Using high-precision laser tweezers to juggle cells
May 18, 2009Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a new method to study single cells while exposing them to controlled environmental changes. The unique method, where a set of laser tweezers move the cell around in a microscopic channel system, allows the researchers to study how single cells react to stress induced by a constantly changing environment.
Studies on how cells react to changes in their environment, such as reduced availability of nutrients, have traditionally used cultures consisting of millions of cells. While such studies show how cells on average react to a new environment, they say nothing about individual variation, for example how quickly a single cell responds.
Researcher Emma Eriksson and her colleagues at the Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, developed a method where laser tweezers are used to catch a cell the size of about one micrometer, or 0.001 of a mm, and then move the cell between different environments. Placing the cell in a system of channels made of silicone, in which each channel is finer than a human hair, enables the researchers to add and remove substances so that the environment surrounding a single cell changes in a split second - while at the same time watching the reactions through a microscope.
New information
The channels in the so-called microfluidic system can be likened to tiny water pipes. In a channel, a single cell can be exposed to tests and various substances for very exact time periods, which enables the researchers to repeatedly add and remove a substance to see how it affects the behaviour of the cell. This new method gives researchers information that would not be possible to obtain with traditional methods.
How cells survive
In its first stage, the new method has been tested on yeast cells. One of the cells' proteins was tagged with a green fluorescent protein (GFP), enabling researchers to trace the movements of the protein within the cell while it adjusts to a new environment.
'The method can be used to reveal how a cell reacts to stress induced by a change in its environment. The information gained from this may eventually lead to a better understanding of how cells work and what they do to stay alive and healthy in a constantly changing environment', says Eriksson.
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Nonstick and laser-safe gold aids laser trapping of biomolecules
Biophysicists long for an ideal material-something more structured and less sticky than a standard glass surface-to anchor and position individual biomolecules.
UCLA scientists create microscopic alphabet; Research could lead to tiny devices
UCLA scientists have designed and mass-produced billions of fluorescent microscale particles in the shapes of all 26 letters of the alphabet in an "alphabet soup" displaying "exquisite fidelity of the shapes."
Laser tweezers sort atoms
Physicists of the University of Bonn have taken one more important hurdle on the path to what is known as a quantum computer: by using 'laser tweezers' they have succeeded in sorting up to seven atoms and lining them up.
'Laser tweezers' may help the hard of hearing
A University of Sussex neuroscientist has been awarded £775,000 by the Medical Research Council to continue his research into the causes of deafness, by looking at hair cells in the ear. "Hair cells are the sensory receptors in the ear. Sound vibrates the hairs, which produces an electrical current, and this current starts a chain of events that the brain then interprets as sound," explains Dr Corné Kros. A new £120,000 microscope will be used to manipulate the hair bundles on the hair cells using 'laser tweezers'. At the moment this is done using a jet of fluid instead of a laser, but this works only up to a frequency of 1 kHz, whereas the human ear can hear up t
More Laser Tweezers Current Events and Laser Tweezers News Articles
 |
Laser Tweezers in Cell Biology, Volume 55 (Methods in Cell Biology, V. 55) by Michael P. Sheetz (Editor), Leslie Wilson (Editor), Paul T. Matsudaira (Editor) Volume 55 in Methods in Cell Biology is a concise laboratory book that emphasizes the methods and technologies needed to use single polarized laser light source that functions simultaneously as an optical trap and a dual-beam interferometer. Key Features * Provides a practical laboratory guide for methods and technologies used with laser tweezers * Includes comprehensive and easy-to-follow protocols |
 |
Surgi-care Bare N' Clear No Bump Gel, 2-Ounce Bottles (Pack of 3) by Surgi-Care Formulated to treat and prevent ingrown hairs and unsightly bumps due to waxing, shaving, electrolysis and laser hair removal. This salon tested formula is the professional way to maintain smooth skin between hair removal treatments. |
 |
R.e.m Spring Facial Hair Remover by R.e.m Spring You don't need waxes, bleach or stinging lotions to remove those little hairs on the cheeks, chin, neck and upper lip. Here's a faster and easier way! Just roll the R.E.M Spring bar over unwanted hairs it removes hair from the root, and won't leave skin with rashes, redness or sores like waxing can. Completely natural and safe even on sensitive skin. No harsh chemicals, waxes or creams that can remove a layer of skin. Use as often as you like, and use just about anywhere. Have the silky-smooth skin you've always wanted without tweezing, shaving or depilatories. Based on the age-old Asian technique of hair threading to remove unwanted hairs, the R.E.M. Spring is safe, effective and easy to use! You don't need waxes, bleach or stinging lotions to remove those little hairs on... |
 |
Micromanipulation by Light in Biology and Medicine: The Laser Microbeam and Optical Tweezers (Methods in Bioengineering) by Karl Otto Greulich (Author) Laser micromanipulation--implying perforation, cutting and welding of biological objects using. optical tweezers, as well as moving them just by using, forces generated by a laser microbeam--is becoming an increasingly popular technique for studying biological objects, especially automatedDNA sequencing. This book is an excellent introduction to the basics and primarily biological applications of optical trapping and laser microbeam techniques. The author, one of the pioneers of the microbeam technique, examines the field in depth, covering basic physical principles to applications in cell and molecular biology, and biomedicine. This book bridges the gap between physicists who understand the underlying principles of the method but are not aware of its numerous biological applications,... |
|
Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications (Series in Optics and Optoelectronics) by Miles J. Padgett (Editor), Justin Molloy (Editor), David McGloin (Editor) The technical development of optical tweezers, along with their application in the biological and physical sciences, has progressed significantly since the demonstration of an optical trap for micron-sized particles based on a single, tightly focused laser beam was first reported more than twenty years ago. Bringing together many landmark papers on the field, Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications covers the techniques and uses of optical tweezers. Each section is introduced by a brief commentary, setting the papers into their historical and contemporary contexts. The first two sections explore the pioneering work of Arthur Ashkin and the use of optical tweezers in biological systems. The book then discusses the extensive use of optical tweezers for the... | |
 |
Micromechanical Photonics (Microtechnology and MEMS) by H. Ukita (Author) The purpose of this book is to give the engineering student and the practical engineer a systematic introduction to optical MEMS (Micro electro mechanical systems) and micromechanical photonics through not only theoretical and experimental results, but also by describing various products and their fields of application. After an overview on optical MEMS and micromechanical photonics, the book describes extremely-short-external-cavity laser diodes tunable laser diodes, a resonant sensor and an integrated optical head. It then addresses optical tweezers, the new technology employed to manipulate various types of objects in a variety of research and industrial fields. Coverage progresses through topics on the design and fabrication of an optical rotor and evaluation of mixing performances... |
 |
Generalized Phase Contrast:: Applications in Optics and Photonics (Springer Series in Optical Sciences) by Jesper Glückstad (Author), Darwin Palima (Author) Generalized Phase Contrast elevates the phase contrast technique not only to improve phase imaging but also to cross over and interface with diverse and seemingly disparate fields of contemporary optics and photonics. This book presents a comprehensive introduction to the Generalized Phase Contrast (GPC) method including an overview of the range of current and potential applications of GPC in wavefront sensing and phase imaging, structured laser illumination and image projection, optical trapping and manipulation, and optical encryption and decryption. The GPC method goes further than the restrictive assumptions of conventional Zernike phase contrast analysis and achieves an expanded range of validity beyond weak phase perturbations. The generalized analysis yields... |
 |
Rem Spring Facial Hair Remover - Fast And Easy with BONUS 8x Compact Mirror & Tweezer by R.e.m Spring You don't need waxes, bleach or stinging lotions to remove those little hairs on the cheeks, chin, neck and upper lip. Here's a faster and easier way! Just roll the R.E.M Spring bar over unwanted hairs it removes hair from the root, and won't leave skin with rashes, redness or sores like waxing can. Completely natural and safe even on sensitive skin. No harsh chemicals, waxes or creams that can remove a layer of skin. Use as often as you like, and use just about anywhere. Have the silky-smooth skin you've always wanted without tweezing, shaving or depilatories. Based on the age-old Asian technique of hair threading to remove unwanted hairs, the R.E.M. Spring is safe, effective and easy to use! You don't need waxes, bleach or stinging lotions to remove those little hairs on... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |