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Monday, October 8, 2018

Spin photonic forces in non-reciprocal waveguides

Sarang Pendharker, Farid Kalhor, Todd Van Mechelen, Saman Jahani, Neda Nazemifard, Thomas Thundat, and Zubin Jacob

Optical forces acting on particles - controlled by the intensity, polarization and direction of optical beams - have become an important tool in manipulation, sorting and analysis of nano/micro-particles. The nature of these forces has been well understood in reciprocal structures exhibiting time-reversal symmetries. Here, we investigate the nature of optical forces in non-reciprocal structures with non-degenerate counter-propagating modes. We consider the specific case of non-reciprocity induced via translational motion and show that the two counter-propagating modes in a moving slab-waveguide are not degenerate which results in a non-zero lateral and longitudinal force on a nanoparticle. We prove that these anomalous forces are fundamentally connected to near-field photonic spin in optical waveguides and explain their directionality using universal spin-momentum locking of evanescent waves. The presented results show that the interplay of photon spin and non-reciprocity can lead to unique avenues of controlling nanoscale optical forces on-chip.

DOI

Direct measurement of radiation pressure and circulating power inside a passive optical cavity

Ryan Wagner, Felipe Guzman, Akobuije Chijioke, Gurpreet Kaur Gulati, Matthias Keller, and Gordon Shaw

A mechanical force sensor coupled to two optical cavities is developed as a metrological tool. This system is used to generate a calibrated circulating optical power and to create a transfer standard for externally coupled optical power. The variability of the sensor as a transfer standard for optical power is less than 2%. The uncertainty in using the sensor to measure the circulating power inside the cavity is less than 3%. The force measured from the mechanical response of the sensor is compared to the force predicted from characterizing the optical spectrum of the cavity. These two forces are approximately 20% different. Potential sources for this disagreement are analyzed and discussed. The sensor is compact, portable, and can operate in ambient and vacuum environments. This device provides a pathway to novel nanonewton scale force and milliwatt scale laser power calibrations, enables direct measurement of the circulating power inside an optical cavity, and enhances the sensitivity of radiation pressure-based optical power transfer standards.

DOI

Optical trapping and axial shifting for strongly absorbing particle with single focused TEM00 Gaussian beam

Zhihai Liu, Jiaze Wu, Yu Zhang, Yaxun Zhang, Xiaoyun Tang, Xinghua Yang, Jianzhong Zhang, Jun Yang, and Libo Yuan

We propose and demonstrate a stable three-dimensional trap and manipulation of a micron-sized strongly absorbing particle in pure liquid glycerol by using a single tight focused TEM00 Gaussian beam. We employ a bottom-side bidirectional view observation system to observe the trapped particle. We use the light at 980 nm to trap the absorbing particle and the light at 532 nm to indicate the distribution of the temperature field around the trapped particle. The trapping position of the absorbing particle is related to the incident laser power; the lower the incident laser power, the longer the particle shift distance. Our approach provides full control over trapped absorbing particles and expands optical manipulation of strong absorbing particles into a liquid media.

DOI

New Detector Sensitivity Calibration and the Calculation of the Interaction Force between Particles Using an Optical Tweezer

Pavel Yale, Jean-Michel Edoukoua Konin, Michel Abaka Kouacou and Jérémie Thouakesseh Zoueu

We propose a new approach to calculate the sensitivity factor of the detector in optical tweezers. In this work, we used a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera and a quadrant photodiode (QPD) for the extraction of the various positions occupied by the trapped object (in this case, silica beads of different diameters). Image-J software and the Boltzmann statistical method were then used to estimate the sensitivity of the detector. Silica beads of diameter 0.8 µm, 2 µm, a system of 2 µm bead stuck to 4.5 µm one and another system of 2 µm beads stuck to 2 µm one, were studied. This work contributes significantly to making better calibration of the detector without taking into account the geometry of the object imprisoned in the optical trap. We further developed an approach to calculate the interaction force between two microbeads. This approach does not require any knowledge of solvent viscosity and works for all types of samples.

DOI

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Single Cell Isolation Using Optical Tweezers

Anusha Keloth, Owen Anderson, Donald Risbridger and Lynn Paterson

Optical tweezers offer a non-contact method for selecting single cells and translocating them from one microenvironment to another. We have characterized the optical tweezing of yeast S. cerevisiae and can manipulate single cells at 0.41 ± 0.06 mm/s using a 26.8 ± 0.1 mW from a 785 nm diode laser. We have fabricated and tested three cell isolation devices; a micropipette, a PDMS chip and a laser machined fused silica chip and we have isolated yeast, single bacteria and cyanobacteria cells. The most effective isolation was achieved in PDMS chips, where single yeast cells were grown and observed for 18 h without contamination. The duration of budding in S. cerevisiae was not affected by the laser parameters used, but the time from tweezing until the first budding event began increased with increasing laser energy (laser power × time). Yeast cells tweezed using 25.0 ± 0.1 mW for 1 min were viable after isolation. We have constructed a micro-consortium of yeast cells, and a co-culture of yeast and bacteria, using optical tweezers in combination with the PDMS network of channels and isolation chambers, which may impact on both industrial biotechnology and understanding pathogen dynamics.

DOI

A fluorescent membrane tension probe

Adai Colom, Emmanuel Derivery, Saeideh Soleimanpour, Caterina Tomba, Marta Dal Molin, Naomi Sakai, Marcos González-Gaitán, Stefan Matile & Aurélien Roux

Cells and organelles are delimited by lipid bilayers in which high deformability is essential to many cell processes, including motility, endocytosis and cell division. Membrane tension is therefore a major regulator of the cell processes that remodel membranes, albeit one that is very hard to measure in vivo. Here we show that a planarizable push–pull fluorescent probe called FliptR (fluorescent lipid tension reporter) can monitor changes in membrane tension by changing its fluorescence lifetime as a function of the twist between its fluorescent groups. The fluorescence lifetime depends linearly on membrane tension within cells, enabling an easy quantification of membrane tension by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. We further show, using model membranes, that this linear dependency between lifetime of the probe and membrane tension relies on a membrane-tension-dependent lipid phase separation. We also provide calibration curves that enable accurate measurement of membrane tension using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy.

DOI

Influence of higher modes on plasmonic force in a narrow slit

Alexander Tusnin and David Shapiro

The plasmonic force due to electromagnetic waves between two metallic walls has been studied earlier for a subwavelength slit taking into consideration only zero mode. In the present paper, the effects of the second mode are analyzed. The higher modes are shown to decrease the attractive force. The magnetic field of the p-wave is compared with the model of a perfect conductor. The difference occurs maximal at the threshold, where the second mode changes its behavior from evanescent to propagating. The effect of possibly changing the attractive force to the repulsive force for a relatively wide slit is found.

DOI

The kinetoplastid kinetochore protein KKT4 is an unconventional microtubule tip–coupling protein

Aida Llauró, Hanako Hayashi, Megan E. Bailey, Alex Wilson, Patryk Ludzia, Charles L. Asbury, Bungo Akiyoshi

Kinetochores are multiprotein machines that drive chromosome segregation by maintaining persistent, load-bearing linkages between chromosomes and dynamic microtubule tips. Kinetochores in commonly studied eukaryotes bind microtubules through widely conserved components like the Ndc80 complex. However, in evolutionarily divergent kinetoplastid species such as Trypanosoma brucei, which causes sleeping sickness, the kinetochores assemble from a unique set of proteins lacking homology to any known microtubule-binding domains. Here, we show that the T. brucei kinetochore protein KKT4 binds directly to microtubules and maintains load-bearing attachments to both growing and shortening microtubule tips. The protein localizes both to kinetochores and to spindle microtubules in vivo, and its depletion causes defects in chromosome segregation. We define a microtubule-binding domain within KKT4 and identify several charged residues important for its microtubule-binding activity. Thus, despite its lack of significant similarity to other known microtubule-binding proteins, KKT4 has key functions required for driving chromosome segregation. We propose that it represents a primary element of the kinetochore–microtubule interface in kinetoplastids.

DOI

Experimental test of ensemble inequivalence and the fluctuation theorem in the force ensemble in DNA pulling experiments

A. M. Monge, M. Manosas, and F. Ritort

We experimentally test the validity of the Crooks fluctuation theorem (CFT) in the force ensemble by pulling DNA hairpins, first with magnetic tweezers, next with optical tweezers using force feedback. The CFT holds when using the definition of work Wf=−∫xdf, where x is the molecular extension and f is the force. In contrast, it does not hold when using the usual definition, appropriate for the constant extension ensemble, Wx=∫fdx, showing the importance of the contribution of boundary terms to the full entropy production in a clear example of statistical ensemble inequivalence in small systems. We also evaluate the differences in the average dissipated work in the force ensemble as compared to the extension ensemble, highlighting ensemble inequivalence also at the level of molecular kinetics.

DOI

Microfluidic-Based Single-Cell Study: Current Status and Future Perspective

Haiwa Wu, Jing Zhu, Yao Huang, Daming Wu and Jingyao Sun

Investigation of cell behavior under different environments and manual operations can give information in specific cellular processes. Among all cell-based analysis, single-cell study occupies a peculiar position, while it can avoid the interaction effect within cell groups and provide more precise information. Microfluidic devices have played an increasingly important role in the field of single-cell study owing to their advantages: high efficiency, easy operation, and low cost. In this review, the applications of polymer-based microfluidics on cell manipulation, cell treatment, and cell analysis at single-cell level are detailed summarized. Moreover, three mainly types of manufacturing methods, i.e., replication, photodefining, and soft lithography methods for polymer-based microfluidics are also discussed.

DOI