In order to use optical tweezers as a force measuring tool inside a viscoelastic medium such as the cytoplasm of a living cell, it is crucial to perform an exact force calibration within the complex medium. This is a nontrivial task, as many of the physical characteristics of the medium and probe, e.g., viscosity, elasticity, shape, and density, are often unknown. Here, we suggest how to calibrate single beam optical tweezers in a complex viscoelastic environment. At the same time, we determine viscoelastic characteristics such as friction retardation spectrum and elastic moduli of the medium. We apply and test a method suggested [M. Fischer and K. Berg-Sørensen, J. Opt. A, PureAppl. Opt. 9, S239 (2007)], a method which combines passive and active measurements. The method is demonstrated in a simple viscous medium, water, and in a solution of entangled F-actin without cross-linkers.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Active-passive calibration of optical tweezers in viscoelastic media
Mario Fischer, Andrew C. Richardson, S. Nader S. Reihani, Lene B. Oddershede, and Kirstine Berg-Sørensen
In order to use optical tweezers as a force measuring tool inside a viscoelastic medium such as the cytoplasm of a living cell, it is crucial to perform an exact force calibration within the complex medium. This is a nontrivial task, as many of the physical characteristics of the medium and probe, e.g., viscosity, elasticity, shape, and density, are often unknown. Here, we suggest how to calibrate single beam optical tweezers in a complex viscoelastic environment. At the same time, we determine viscoelastic characteristics such as friction retardation spectrum and elastic moduli of the medium. We apply and test a method suggested [M. Fischer and K. Berg-Sørensen, J. Opt. A, PureAppl. Opt. 9, S239 (2007)], a method which combines passive and active measurements. The method is demonstrated in a simple viscous medium, water, and in a solution of entangled F-actin without cross-linkers.
In order to use optical tweezers as a force measuring tool inside a viscoelastic medium such as the cytoplasm of a living cell, it is crucial to perform an exact force calibration within the complex medium. This is a nontrivial task, as many of the physical characteristics of the medium and probe, e.g., viscosity, elasticity, shape, and density, are often unknown. Here, we suggest how to calibrate single beam optical tweezers in a complex viscoelastic environment. At the same time, we determine viscoelastic characteristics such as friction retardation spectrum and elastic moduli of the medium. We apply and test a method suggested [M. Fischer and K. Berg-Sørensen, J. Opt. A, PureAppl. Opt. 9, S239 (2007)], a method which combines passive and active measurements. The method is demonstrated in a simple viscous medium, water, and in a solution of entangled F-actin without cross-linkers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment