Femtosecond optical trapping of cells: Efficiency and viability

Abstract

The femtosecond optical trapping capability and the effect of femtosecond laser pulses on cell viability were studied. The maximum lateral velocity at which the particles just failed to be trapped, together with the measured average trapping power, were used to calculate the lateral trapping force (Q-value). The viability of the cells after femtosecond laser trapping was ascertained by vital staining. Measurement of the Q-values shows that femtosecond optical tweezers are just as effective as continuous wave optical tweezers. The experiments demonstrate that there is a critical limit for exposure time at each corresponding laser power of femtosecond optical tweezers, and femtosecond laser tweezers are safe for optical trapping at low power with short exposure time.

Keywords

optical tweezers / femtosecond laser / cell viability

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