https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-03190-9
Review
Advanced optical tweezers on cell manipulation and analysis
1
College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
2
Hebei Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Precision Optical Sensing and Measurement Technology, 066004, Qinhuangdao, China
Received:
25
February
2022
Accepted:
23
July
2022
Published online:
9
September
2022
Optical tweezers (OTs), which generate a variety of fascinating beam patterns, allow biologists to uncover the natural secrets of human life at single-cell level. Due to its gentle treatment and high resolution, the technology opens up a new chapter for cytology studies ranging from cells infected with pathogenic bacteria to stimulating cell mechanotransduction. In the process, optical tweezers play an irreplaceable role in the field of cytology, including chromatin analysis, blood diagnosis, cytoskeletal adjustment, intercellular adhesion, single-molecule assessment, and in vitro reconstruction. In this review, we provide a comprehensive and in-depth insight into cellular studies in OTs, covering current research from fundamental theory and optical stiffness calculation to the bio-analytical applications of different types of cells. The aim of this review is to convey the latest achievements over the last decade, such as OTs manipulating cells, biological analysis on their elasticity, adhesion, and migration, and even combination with other promising technologies, i.e., Raman spectroscopy and microfluidics. We believe this review will facilitate the rapid development of OTs in cell science.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2022. Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
