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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Optical trapping: A review of essential concepts

I.Verdeny, A.Farré, J.Mas, C.López-Quesada, E.Martín-Badosa, M.Montes-Usategui

Optical tweezers are an innovative technique for the non-contact, all-optical manipulation of small material samples, which has extraordinarily expanded and evolved since its inception in the mid-80s of the last century. Nowadays, the potential of optical tweezers has been clearly proven and a wide range of applications both from the physical and biological sciences have solidly emerged, turning the early ideas and techniques into a powerful paradigm for experimentation in the micro- and nanoworld. This review aims at highlighting the fundamental concepts that are essential for a thorough understanding of optical trapping, making emphasis on both its manipulation and measurement capabilities, as well as on the vast array of important biological applications appeared in the last years.

DOI

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