Regensburg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 3: Cell Mechanics 1
BP 3.5: Vortrag
Montag, 5. September 2022, 11:00–11:15, H15
Novel Optofluidic Particle Trap Enables FemtoNewton Force Sensing — •Iliya Stoev1,2, Benjamin Seelbinder1,2, Elena Erben1,2, Nicola Maghelli1,2, and Moritz Kreysing1,2,3 — 1Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307, Dresden, Germany — 2Centre for Systems Biology, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307, Dresden, Germany — 3Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Arnoldstraße 18, 01307, Dresden, Germany
Here we show how thermoviscous expansion phenomena can be used to generate a new contactless particle trap that is characterised by a linear force-extension relationship and can therefore be employed in non-invasively measuring femtoNewton forces with thermally limited sensitivity. Our new method combines optics with microfluidics, lifting prerequisites related to the probe material and resulting in only moderate heating at the position of the micromanipulated object. This offers an appealing alternative to the use of optical tweezers in highly delicate samples and living systems. As a follow-up work, we aim to explore the opportunity of using these thermoviscous flows in a novel phase-sensitive microrheology approach by building on the formalism established in classic bulk rheology. We anticipate that our new method would be of interest to material scientists and mechanobiologists alike as it provides a route towards measuring the mechanics of highly viscous media, tenuous gels and likely even cellular cytoplasm or embryonic ooplasm. Further refinements of the method aim at removing the need for using fluorescent tags and/or external probes.