The new generation of multibeam optical tweezers. The Molecular Machines &
Industries CellManipulator is an optical trap that enables ultraprecise, contact-free
manipulation of microscopic particles. The optical tweezers use a focused laser
beam to trap, move and position single cells or sub-cellular and microscopic
particles in a size range of approximately 0.1 micro - 200 micro.
Molecular Machines & Industries CellManipulator is an optical trap that
enables ultraprecise, contact-free manipulation of microscopic particles. The
optical tweezers use a focused laser beam to trap, move and position single
cells or sub-cellular and microscopic particles in a size range of approximately
0.1 micro – 200 micro.
The trapping action of optical tweezers is created because optical gradient
force is more powerful than scattering and absorption forces. The trap itself
is created by the effects of pressure generated by strongly focused laser light.
A transparent particle with a refractive index greater than the medium inevitably
moves towards the center of the beam, resulting in three-dimensional trapping.
Specially designed optics introduce the laser beam through the epifluorescence
port of an inverted microscope. The same lens is used to view and trap particles
immersed in a liquid.
Molecular Machines & Industries CellManipulator traps particles using a
high-quality, YAG-type infrared laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and 3 W trapping
power. The wavelength was chosen because it does not destroy living organisms.
Key Features
- multibeam operation with up to ten tweezer points
- contact-free movement of selected particles
- easy operation
- hassle-free combination with other MMI instruments, such as mmi CellCut
and mmi Cellector
- Molecular Machines & Industries CellManipulator is compatible with
most standard inverse microscopes used for research purposes
Applications
Molecular Machines & Industries CellManipulator is used in the following
areas
- cell sorting
- cell fusion
- cell-cell interactions
- measurement of binding forces or viscosities
- neuroscience-related applications