Electrophoretic and Optical

We developed an electro-optical system for cell manipulation in collaboration with Sadik Esener's group at UCSD. The platform (left) is an electro-optical method that employs two complementary methods of cell manipulation: (1) electrophoretic arraying of cells in a DC field due to their intrinsic negative surface charge, and (2) remote optical manipulation of individual cells by vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL)-driven infrared optical tweezers. The platform is optically transparent and thus enables monitoring of fluorescent reporters of cellular events (e.g. expression of green fluorescent protein) and allows remote optical manipulation of arrayed cells without risk of breaching the aseptic environment. On the right, electrophoretic assembly of polystyrene beads is demonstrated by the application of 1 V over 30 seconds. Ozkan et al (2003), Langmuir