Research > Faculty Projects

Micro-instrumentation for Optical Manipulation of Biological Cells with Fine Orientation Control and Low Optical Intensity

Principal Investigator
Lih Lin

Sponsor(s)
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Award Period
09/15/2005 - 08/31/2009

Abstract
Non-invasive manipulation of single cells is an important tool for biomedical studies. Among various non-invasive manipulation mechanisms, a particularly desirable one is the ability to control the orientation of the biological cells, in addition to trapping and moving them. Such capability opens the door to building structured biomaterials for potential applications in constructing biofilms and human tissue engineering. Recently, researchers have been working on rotating microparticles using optical tweezers that utilize radiation pressure from photons. Most of the demonstrated results require either auxilliary methods such as micro-fluidics or revised optical beam with exquisite optical design. The main disadvantage with optical tweezers is the requirement for high optical intensity, which makes photodamage to biological cells a concern. In this proposal, we propose a new approach to optical manipulation of biological cells with fine orientation control, low optical-intensity requirement, and fast rotation speed. It utilizes polarized light to excite oscillating electrical dipoles on a conductive surface. These dipoles generate a patterned radiation electric field that manipulates the cells with orientation control dependent on the polarization of the light. We also plan to fabricate a micromachined polarization controller as the first step towards micro- instrumentation. At the end of the program, we will demonstrate manipulation and rotation of biological cells by the proposed system.

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