.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Laser-induced fusion of human embryonic stem cells with optical tweezers

Shuxun Chen, Jinping Cheng, Chi-Wing Kong, Xiaolin Wang, Shuk Han Cheng, Ronald A. Li, and Dong Sun
We report a study on the laser-induced fusion of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) at the single-cell level. Cells were manipulated by optical tweezers and fused under irradiation with pulsed UV laser at 355 nm. Successful fusion was indicated by green fluorescence protein transfer. The influence of laser pulse energy on the fusion efficiency was investigated. The fused products were viable as gauged by live cell staining. Successful fusion of hESCs with somatic cells was also demonstrated. The reported fusion outcome may facilitate studies of cell differentiation, maturation, and reprogramming.
DOI

No comments: