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Exact Theory of Optical Tweezers and Its Application to Absolute Calibration

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Optical Tweezers

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1486))

Abstract

Optical tweezers have become a powerful tool for basic and applied research in cell biology. Here, we describe an experimentally verified theory for the trapping forces generated by optical tweezers based on first principles that allows absolute calibration. For pedagogical reasons, the steps that led to the development of the theory over the past 15 years are outlined. The results are applicable to a broad range of microsphere radii, from the Rayleigh regime to the ray optics one, for different polarizations and trapping heights, including all commonly employed parameter domains. Protocols for implementing absolute calibration are given, explaining how to measure all required experimental parameters, and including a link to an applet for stiffness calculations.

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Abbreviations

a :

Radius of trapped particle

F :

Trapping force

h :

Distance from microsphere center to coverslip

k z , k ρ :

Axial and transverse trap stiffness, respectively

λ, λ 0 :

Generic and vacuum wavelength, respectively

NA:

Objective numerical aperture

n :

Generic refractive index

n g, n p, n w :

Refractive indices of glass, trapped particle and water, respectively

OT:

Optical tweezers

P :

Incident laser beam power

Q z , Q ρ :

Axial and transverse dimensionless efficiency factors, respectively

θ o :

Focused laser beam opening angle

ω :

Laser beam angular frequency

z eq :

Axial equilibrium position

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Brazilian agencies CNPq, FAPERJ, and INCT Fluidos Complexos.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, Rua Sebastião de Lacerda, Paracambi, RJ, 26600-000, Brazil

    Rafael S. Dutra

  2. Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

    Rafael S. Dutra

  3. Instituto de Física and LPO-COPEA, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 68528, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-972, Brazil

    Nathan B. Viana, Paulo A. Maia Neto & H. Moysés Nussenzveig

Authors
  1. Rafael S. Dutra
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  2. Nathan B. Viana
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  3. Paulo A. Maia Neto
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  4. H. Moysés Nussenzveig
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology & Gruss-Lipper Biophotonics Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA

    Arne Gennerich

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Dutra, R.S., Viana, N.B., Neto, P.A.M., Nussenzveig, H.M. (2017). Exact Theory of Optical Tweezers and Its Application to Absolute Calibration. In: Gennerich, A. (eds) Optical Tweezers. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1486. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6421-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6421-5_2

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6419-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6421-5

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