Plasmonic Optical Tweezers for Particle Manipulation: Principles, Methods, and Applications

Inspired by the idea of combining conventional optical tweezers with plasmonic nanostructures, a technique named plasmonic optical tweezers (POT) has been widely explored from fundamental principles to applications. With the ability to break the diffraction barrier and enhance the localized electromagnetic field, POT techniques are especially effective for high spatial-resolution manipulation of nanoscale or even subnanoscale objects, from small bioparticles to atoms. In addition, POT can be easily integrated with other techniques such as lab-on-chip devices, which results in a very promising alternative technique for high-throughput single-bioparticle sensing or imaging. Despite its label-free, high-precision, and high-spatial-resolution nature, it also suffers from some limitations. One of the main obstacles is that the plasmonic nanostructures are located over the surfaces of a substrate, which makes the manipulation of bioparticles turn from a three-dimensional problem to a nearly two-dimensional problem. Meanwhile, the operation zone is limited to a predefined area. Therefore, the target objects must be delivered to the operation zone near the plasmonic structures. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art target delivery methods for the POT-based particle manipulating technique, along with its applications in single-bioparticle analysis/imaging, high-throughput bioparticle purifying, and single-atom manipulation. Future developmental perspectives of POT techniques are also discussed

SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus and nanoscale particles trapping, tracking and tackling using nanoaperture optical tweezers: A recent advances review

This is the published version of an article published by iScienceIn Publishing in Journal of Materials NanoScience on 02/12/2020, available online: http://pubs.iscience.in/journal/index.php/jmns/article/view/1174Recent advances in nanoscale technologies have provided advanced tools that can be easily used to trap, track, and manipulate individual nanoscale particles and viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses accurately. Among the promising strategies that exist to date, optical forces based techniques are the leading tools in this task. Perfectly, focused lasers act as “optical tweezers,” and can trap individual particles and viruses. These forces can be applied to study nanomaterials, viruses, the building blocks of a quantum computer, and collision processes occurring between molecules in a better way than ever before. These cutting-edge tools are capable of trapping, tracking, and manipulating at the nanoscale in three dimensions. The optical tweezers have been used within biological and nanotechnological fields for trapping, tracking, and manipulating nanoparticles, and viruses with high flexibility, precision, and integration. The outcomes are important breakthroughs in the field of molecular mechanics. Here, we review the state-of-the-art optical tools employed in optical trapping, tracking, and manipulation of different particles at the nanoscale. The trapping of nanoparticles down to single-digit nanometer range and individual SARS-CoV-2 are the main features discussed here. Optical tweezers are also capable of sizing and probing acoustic modes of a small virus such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. The optical tweezers can perform tracking of nanoparticles in three-dimensional with high-resolution by forwarding scattered light. Optical tweezers are used to grab single molecules and measure events that are occurring and employed for measuring forces and measuring distance. A miniature and modular system creates a reliable and mobile optical trap that has more potential to be applied in optical trapping technologies

Roadmap for optical tweezers

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMOptical tweezers are tools made of light that enable contactless pushing, trapping, and manipulation of objects, ranging from atoms to space light sails. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been employed in a broad range of applications in the life sciences, physics, and engineering. These include accurate force and torque measurement at the femtonewton level, microrheology of complex fluids, single micro- and nano-particle spectroscopy, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into current investigations involving optical forces and optical tweezers from their theoretical foundations to designs and setups. It also offers perspectives for applications to a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to space explorationEuropean Commission (Horizon 2020, Project No. 812780

Roadmap for Optical Tweezers 2023

Optical tweezers are tools made of light that enable contactless pushing, trapping, and manipulation of objects ranging from atoms to space light sails. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been employed in a broad range of applications in life sciences, physics, and engineering. These include accurate force and torque measurement at the femtonewton level, microrheology of complex fluids, single micro- and nanoparticle spectroscopy, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into current investigations involving optical forces and optical tweezers from their theoretical foundations to designs and setups. It also offers perspectives for applications to a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to space exploration

Roadmap for optical tweezers

Optical tweezers are tools made of light that enable contactless pushing, trapping, and manipulation of objects, ranging from atoms to space light sails. Since the pioneering work by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been employed in a broad range of applications in the life sciences, physics, and engineering. These include accurate force and torque measurement at the femtonewton level, microrheology of complex fluids, single micro- and nano-particle spectroscopy, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into current investigations involving optical forces and optical tweezers from their theoretical foundations to designs and setups. It also offers perspectives for applications to a wide range of research fields, from biophysics to space exploration.journal articl

Engineered nanofluidic platforms for single molecule detection, analysis and manipulation

Since the pioneering studies on single ion-channel recordings in 1976, single molecule methods have evolved into powerful tools capable of probing biological systems with unprecedented detail. In this work, we build on the versatility of a type of nanofluidic devices, called nanopipettes, to explore novel modes of single molecule detection and manipulation with the aim of improving spatial and temporal control of biomolecules. In particular, a novel nanopore configuration is presented, where biomolecules were individually confined into a zeptoliter volume bridging two adjacent nanopores at the tip of a nanopipette. As a result of this confinement, the transport of biomolecules such as DNA and proteins was slow down by nearly three orders of magnitude, leading to an improved sensitivity and superior signal-to-noise performances compared to conventional nanopore sensing. Active ways of controlling the transport of biomolecule by combining the advantages of nanopore single-molecule sensing and Field-Effect Transistors are also presented. These hybrid platforms were fabricated in a simple two step process which integrates a gold electrode at the apex of a nanopipette. We show that these devices were effective in modulating the charge density of the nanopore and in actively switching "on" and "off" the transport of DNA through the nanopore. Finally, a nanoscale dielectrophoretic nanotweezer device has been developed for high resolution manipulation and interrogation of individual entities. Two closely spaced carbon nanoelectrodes were embedded at the apex of a nanopipette. Voltage and frequency applied to the electrodes generated a highly localized force capable of trapping and manipulating a broad range of biomolecules. These dielectrophoretic nanotweezers were suitable for probing complex biological environments and a new technique for minimally invasive single-cell nanobiopsy was established. Such study provides encouraging results on how nanopipettebased platforms can be integrated as a future tool for routinely interrogating molecules at the nanoscale.Open Acces

POSITION AND ORIENTATION DEPENDENT ENERGY LANDSCAPES OF ANISOTROPIC COLLOIDAL PARTICLES IN NON-UNIFORM AC ELECTRIC FIELDS

Anisotropic colloidal particles are receiving more attention because of their potential applications in different aspects of scientific fields. It is important to reveal the principle driving the particle-field interaction to direct the manipulation and further introduce the assembly of anisotropic particles. Anisotropic particles made of photoresist material with different shapes and aspect ratios are fabricated using photolithography method, and the behavior of single particle in the non-uniform AC electric field is observed and recorded using optical microscopy. Boltzmann Inversion is applied to realize the quasi-2D analysis. From the generated position and orientation dependent energy landscapes, it is found that the ellipsoidal theory accurately models the behavior of elliptical prisms with only the particle conductivity as the adjustable parameter. To solve the discrepancy between elliptical theory and experimental result for the rectangular prisms with sharp rounded corners, other parameters related to the geometry of particle need to be introduced, and a great agreement between modified ellipsoidal model and experiment for rectangular prism can be found with the introduction of adjustable parameters along with physical restriction

Additive nanomanufacturing: a review

Additive manufacturing has provided a pathway for inexpensive and flexible manufacturing of specialized components and one-off parts. At the nanoscale, such techniques are less ubiquitous. Manufacturing at the nanoscale is dominated by lithography tools that are too expensive for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in. Additive nanomanufacturing (ANM) empowers smaller facilities to design, create, and manufacture on their own while providing a wider material selection and flexible design. This is especially important as nanomanufacturing thus far is largely constrained to 2-dimensional patterning techniques and being able to manufacture in 3-dimensions could open up new concepts. In this review, we outline the state-of-the-art within ANM technologies such as electrohydrodynamic jet printing, dip-pen lithography, direct laser writing, and several single particle placement methods such as optical tweezers and electrokinetic nanomanipulation. The ANM technologies are compared in terms of deposition speed, resolution, and material selection and finally the future prospects of ANM are discussed. This review is up-to-date until April 2014