Atorvastatin treatment softens human red blood cells: An optical tweezers study

Optical tweezers are proven indispensable single-cell micro-manipulation and mechanical phenotyping tools. In this study, we have used optical tweezers for measuring the viscoelastic properties of human red blood cells (RBCs). Comparison of the viscoelastic features of the healthy fresh and atorvastatin treated cells revealed that the drug softens the cells. Using a simple modeling approach, we proposed a molecular model that explains the drug-induced softening of the RBC membrane. Our results suggest that direct interactions between the drug and cytoskeletal components underlie the drug-induced softening of the cells. © 2018 Optical Society of America

Atorvastatin treatment softens human red blood cells: An optical tweezers study

Optical tweezers are proven indispensable single-cell micro-manipulation and mechanical phenotyping tools. In this study, we have used optical tweezers for measuring the viscoelastic properties of human red blood cells (RBCs). Comparison of the viscoelastic features of the healthy fresh and atorvastatin treated cells revealed that the drug softens the cells. Using a simple modeling approach, we proposed a molecular model that explains the drug-induced softening of the RBC membrane. Our results suggest that direct interactions between the drug and cytoskeletal components underlie the drug-induced softening of the cells. © 2018 Optical Society of America

Optimized rotation of an optically trapped particle for micro mixing

The angular momentum transferred by circularly polarized photons is able to rotate an optically trapped microparticle. Here, the optically rotating particle is introduced as an active micromixer to reduce the mixing time in a microfluidic system. To optimize the system for microfluidic application, the effect of several optical parameters such as spherical aberration and the numerical aperture of the objective on the rotation rate of a trapped particle is investigated. The results show that the optimized depth for the rotation of a particle is located close to the coverslip and can be changed by a fine adjustment of the refractive index of the immersion oil. By applying the obtained optimized optical parameters on a trapped particle at the interface of two fluids in a microchannel, the mixing length is reduced by a factor of ∼2.</p