Title

Nano-Optical Tweezers: Methods and Applications for Trapping Single Molecules and Nanoparticles

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Optical tweezers were developed in 1970 by Arthur Ashkin as a tool for the manipulation of micron-sized particles. Ashkin's original design was then adapted for a variety of purposes, such as trapping and manipulation of biological materials[1] and the laser cooling of atoms.[2,3] More recent development has led to nano-optical tweezers, for trapping particles on the scale of only a few nanometers, and holographic tweezers, which allow for dynamic control of multiple traps in real-time. These alternatives to conventional optical tweezers have made it possible to trap single molecules and to perform a variety of studies on them. Presented here is a review of recent developments in nano-optical tweezers and their current and future applications.

Department(s)

Physics and Engineering

Publication Title

ChemPhysChem

Volume

22

Issue

14

First Page

1409

Last Page

1420

Publication Date

7-16-2021

DOI

10.1002/cphc.202100004

ISSN

14394235

E-ISSN

14397641

PubMed ID

33797179

Comments

Student author: Joshua Kolbow, Physics and Engineering

Alumni author: Christopher T. Ertsgaard, Physics and Engineering

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