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Measuring the Mechanical Properties of a Cell with Optical Tweezers

School
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Until a few decades ago, manipulating biological cells and studying the physical properties of tiny particles with light was unachievable. By discovering Optical tweezers, Arthur Ashkin made it possible the dream of science fiction to use the radiation force to move and trap microscopic particles and manipulate matter with light. These days, optical tweezers with special properties in measuring forces of the order of pico- and femto-Newton are used as a very powerful tool in the different areas of nanotechnology to single-molecule studies. Arthur Ashkin received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for optical tweezers and their applications to bi ...