Researchers at MIT have created a miniature chip that uses a focused light beam to capture and manipulate biological particles, offering a more accessible and versatile tool for studying cells and diseases.
This device could be used to study DNA, identify different types of cells, and explore the underlying causes of diseases.This chip-based"tractor-beam," which uses an intensely focused beam of light to capture and manipulate biological particles without damaging the cells, could help biologists study the mechanisms of diseases.
Scientists have created a tiny chip that can manipulate cells and particles. MIT scientists have developed this tiny, chip-based device similar to the “tractor beam” inThis device could be used to study DNA, identify different types of cells, and explore the underlying causes of diseases.Optical traps and tweezers use focused light beams to capture and move tiny biological particles, such as cells or DNA molecules. The intense light at the beam’s center attracts particles, while steering the beam allows researchers to control the movement and position of tiny particles. However, traditional optical tweezers require a large, laboratory-based microscope system, along with various components for generating and controlling the light beam. This makes them difficult to use in many settings.“With silicon photonics, we can take this large, typically lab-scale system and integrate it onto a chip. This presents a great solution for biologists, since it provides them with optical trapping and tweezing functionality without the overhead of a complicated bulk-optical setup,” said Jelena Notaros, who is the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science . Unlike previous chip-based tweezers that can only manipulate particles very close to the chip’s surface, this new device can capture and move cells from a much greater distance. This miniature device is based on a silicon photonics chip that emits a light beam to accurately control the movement of particles within a few millimeters. Interestingly, the light beam can pass through the glass coverslips that protect biological samples, ensuring a sterile environment for the cells. The integrated optical phased array was used to create these integrated optical tweezers that can capture and manipulate cells at a much greater distance from the chip surface. “This work opens up new possibilities for chip-based optical tweezers by enabling trapping and tweezing of cells at much larger distances than previously demonstrated,” Notaros added. As per the press release, the researchers can control the light beam’s characteristics by electronically modifying the signals sent to the individual antennas. “No one had created silicon-photonics-based optical tweezers capable of trapping microparticles over a millimeter-scale distance before. This is an improvement of several orders of magnitude higher compared to prior demonstrations,” said Notaros in theThe team faced certain challenges such as developing methods for semi-automated tracking of particles, determining the optimal trap strength, and effectively processing experimental data.After overcoming various challenges, the team successfully demonstrated the use of single-beam optical tweezers for cell manipulation. This development may allow researchers to work with cells in a more natural environment, reducing contamination and stress. Moreover, this precise control over particle movement is crucial for various applications in biology and medicine, as it enables researchers to study cellular processes, analyze DNA, and develop newMrigakshi is a science journalist who enjoys writing about space exploration, biology, and technological innovations. Her work has been featured in well-known publications including Nature India, Supercluster, The Weather Channel and Astronomy magazine. If you have pitches in mind, please do not hesitate to email her.
Biotechnology Optical Tweezers Cell Manipulation DNA Analysis Disease Research
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