Program Leader: Associate Professor Norman Heckenberg, Physics, University of Queensland
Overview
In recent years the development of lasers and other photonic devices has begun to deliver exciting new possibilities not only to detect and image biological systems and processes, but also to intervene, modify and manipulate them. Laser tweezers allow microscopic objects to be trapped in a focused laser beam and moved around. The forces, and now torques, involved can be simultaneously measured, which means that mechanical engineering analysis, and ultimately, design techniques, can be brought to bear at the cellular level. Probe particles coated with proteins can be used to explore membranes and test adhesion mechanisms. At the micrometre level our ability to optically measure torques and rotation speeds of a probe particle allows us to measure the viscosity of picolitre samples of liquid.
Research
Core Strength: Fundamentals of optical force and torque application and measurement using optical tweezers.
Current Project Areas:
- Application and measurement of forces in optical tweezers * Microrheometry * Application and measurement of orbital optical angular momentum
- Torque application to birefringent spheres using polarized light
- Measurement of spin angular momentum exchange
Development Area: Biological applications of optical tweezers
Current Project Areas:
- monocyte adhesion to vascular tissues
- mechanical properties of cell membranes
- measurement of viscosity of body fluids using microscopic probes
- growth of protein crystals in optical tweezers
Expertise
- Extensive experience with both experiment and theory of the fundamental light-matter interactions which allow small particles to be trapped in laser beams. In particular, we are world leaders in the area of alignment and rotation of particles.
- Experience in using optical tweezers to measure forces in the 10-100 pN range at the cellular level.
Publications
2004
Bishop, A.I., Nieminen, T.A., Heckenberg, N.R., and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H. 2004. "Optical microrheology using rotating laser-trapped particles". Phys Rev Lett. 92,19,198104 (also selected for May 15, 2004 edition of Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research).
Knoener, G., Campbell, J.H., Heckenberg, N.R., Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H., 2004." Formation of an artificial blood vessel: adhesion force measurements with optical tweezers". Proc. SPIE Vol5514, 234-245.
Simon J. Parkin, Timo A. Nieminen, Norman R. Heckenberg, and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop. 2004. "Optical measurement of torque exerted on an elongated object by a non-circular laser beam". Phys. Rev. A.70, 023816.
Parkin, S.J., Nieminen, T., Heckenberg, N.R., and Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H. 2004." Measurement of orbital angular momentum in optical tweezers". Proc SPIE 5514, 264-274.
Singer, W., Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H. and Gibson, U. "Manipulation and growth of birefringent protein crystals in optical tweezers". Opt. Express, 12, 6440-6445 (2004).
2003
Nieminen, T.A., Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H., and Heckenberg, N.R. 2003. "Multipole expansion of strongly focused laser beams". JQSRT, 79-80, 1005-1007.
Nieminen, T.A., Rubinsztein-Dunlop, H., and Heckenberg, N.R. 2003. "Calculation of the T-matrix: general considerations and application of the point-matching method". JQSRT 79-80, 1019-1029.
Bishop, A.I., Nieminen, T.A., Heckenberg, N.R., and Rubinsztein-Dunlop. (2003) "Optical Application and measurement of torque on microparticles of isotropic nonabsorbing material". Phys Rev A. 68, 033802
Conference presentations:
2005
Simon Parkin, Gregor Knoener, Timo Nieminen, Wolfgang Singer, Norman Heckenberg and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, "A Constant Stress Micro-Viscometer", AIP conference, Canberra, 2005.
W. Singer, T. A. Nieminen, N. R. Heckenberg, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, "Rotating optical tweezers", Photonics West, 22-27 January 2005, San Jose, California, USA (invited paper).
N.R. Heckenberg, "Uses of Laguerre-Gauss Beams", Physics 2005 - A Century after Einstein, 10-14 April 2005, University of Warwick, UK (invited paper).
2004
"Formation of an Artificial Blood Vessel: Adhesion Force Measurements with Optical Tweezers". G. Knöner, J. Campbell, N. Heckenberg and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, SPIE Conference, Denver Colorado, USA, 2004.
"Microfluid Vortices Probed by Optical Tweezers". Gregor Knöner, Simon Parkin, Norman R. Heckenberg, and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, AOS Conference, Canberra, July 2004.
Simon Parkin, Gregor Knoener, Timo Nieminen, Wolfgang Singer, Norman Heckenberg and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop "A Constant Stress Micro-Viscometer" OWLS conference, Melbourne, 2004.
"Measurement of Orbital Angular Momentum in Optical Tweezers". Simon Parkin, T. A. Nieminen, N. R. Heckenberg and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, SPIE Denver, Colorado, 2004
"An Optically Driven Micro-Viscometer". Simon Parkin, Gregor Knoener, Martin Dienstbier, Timo A. Nieminen, Norman R. Heckenberg and Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, AOS 2004, Canberra.
"Studies of Adhesion between cells". Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop. The 8th International Conference on Optics within Life Sciences (OWLS8: Biophotonics down under), Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2004, invited talk.
W. Singer, N. R. Heckenberg, and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, "Rotating optical tweezers with laser patterned microbeads", OWLS8, Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2004.
2003
"Single Beam Optical Trap for Adhesion Force Measurements on Biological Cells". G. Knöner, J. Campbell N. Heckenberg and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop. ACOLS 2003, Melbourne.
"Hybrid T-matrix methods". T. A. Nieminen, N. R. Heckenberg, and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop. 7th Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles: Theory, Measurements, and Applications, Bremen, Germany (2003).
"Polarimetric measurement of optical torque", T. A. Nieminen, A. I. Bishop, N. R. Heckenberg, and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop. 7th Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles: Theory, Measurements, and Applications, Bremen, Germany (2003).
T. A. Nieminen, D. F. P. Pile, N. R. Heckenberg, and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop "Multiple-scattering modelling of scattering by biological cells" 7th Conference on Electromagnetic and Light Scattering by Nonspherical Particles: Theory, Measurements, and Applications, Bremen, Germany (2003).
"Measurement of Torque exerted by Orbital Angular Momentum using an Analysing Hologram". Simon Parkin, T. A. Nieminen, N. R. Heckenberg and H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, ACOLS, 2003, Melbourne.
"Efflux Pathways in Giardia duodenalis", Justin Ross, Norman Heckenberg, Jacqui Upcroft, Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Peter Upcroft, (2003), ASP 2003, Darwin NT.
"A System to Measure the Spectral Dependence of Biological Photosensitivity", J. A. Ross, N. R. Heckenberg, A Zvyagin, J. A. Upcroft, P. Upcroft, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, (2003), Australian Conference on Optics and Lasers 2003, Melbourne Vic.
"Optical tweezers and applications". Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop. The Australasian Flow Cytometry Conference, Mooloolaba 13th - 15th October, 2003, invited talk.
"Catch, move and twist using optical tweezers or application of optical tweezers in biomedicine". Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Alexis Bishop, Gregor Knöner, Timo Nieminen, Simon Parkin, and Norman Heckenberg,World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Sydney, Australia, 24-29 August, 2003, invited talk.
"Angular momentum transfer in vortex and non-vortex beams using optical tweezers". Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Alexis Bishop, Timo Nieminen, Simon Parkin and Norman Heckenberg, Annual Meeting of the Optical Society of America, Tuscon, Arizona, October 2003, invited talk.
"Production of hyper-polarised helium by optical pumping using laser-diode arrays", C. Talbot, M.Friese, D. Wang, D.Doddrell, I. Brereton, N. Heckenberg, H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop (2003), Australian Conference on Optics and Lasers 2003, Melbourne, Vic.