title: Role of laser-induced plasma formation in pulsed cellular microsurgery and micromanipulation.
abstract: We investigate experimentally the physical processes underlying pulsed cellular microsurgery and micromanipulation using nanosecond 532- and 1064-nm laser pulses focused at high numerical aperture. We find that the laser parameters employed for many microirradiation techniques are congruent with those leading to optical breakdown in water. We determine the size and shape of the laser-induced plasma, pressure of the emitted shock wave, and size and energy of the cavitation bubble formed by the expanding plasma. We discuss implications of the results for biophysical microirradiation procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-2575, USA. vvenugop@uci.edu
authors.forename: Vasan
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Venugopalan
authors.forename: Arnold
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: Kester
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nahen
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vogel
mesh_terms: D002477:Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008846:Micromanipulation / Q000379:methods*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D014867:Water