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

Joshua D Kolbow; Nathan C Lindquist; Christopher T Ertsgaard; Daehan Yoo; Sang-Hyun Oh

doi:10.1002/cphc.202100004

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

Chemphyschem. 2021 Jul 16;22(14):1409-1420. doi: 10.1002/cphc.202100004. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

Authors

Joshua D Kolbow¹, Nathan C Lindquist², Christopher T Ertsgaard¹, Daehan Yoo¹, Sang-Hyun Oh¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota Kenneth H. Keller Hall, 200, Union St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
² Department of Physics and Engineering, Bethel University, 3900 Bethel Drive, St. Paul, MN 55112, USA.

PMID: 33797179
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202100004

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.

Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; nanoparticles; nanotechnology; scanning probe microscopy; single-molecule studies.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Abstract

Publication types

Grants and funding