Optical tweezers constitute an increasingly used tool for the study of biomechanical properties of cells. Here we report experiments for the projection induction of NIH3T3 fibroblast cells, using a single-trap optical tweezers. The system is based on a 1064-nm, 50mW infrared gaussian laser beam, a 100x microscope objective with 1.25 numerical aperture and a temperature-controlled warming plate to maintain cell viability. Eighteen cells were exposed to the focussed laser beam in different cell zones and another 18 cells were observed without laser stimulation as a control population. The results show that the probability of lamelipodia growth increases on exposed cells by a factor 1.5.

Date Published: 8 May 2014
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9129, Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care IV, 91291U (8 May 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2064939

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9129:
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care IV
Jürgen Popp; Valery V. Tuchin; Dennis L. Matthews; Francesco Saverio Pavone; Paul Garside, Editor(s)