title: Microrheology with optical tweezers.
abstract: Microrheology is the study of the flow of materials over small scales. It is of particular interest to those involved with investigations of fluid properties within Lab-on-a-Chip structures or within other micron-scale environments. The article briefly reviews existing active and passive methods used in the study of fluids. It then explores in greater detail the use of optical tweezers as an emerging method to investigate rheological phenomena, including, for example, viscosity and viscoelasticity, as well as the related topic of flow. The article also describes, briefly, potential future applications of this topic, in the fields of biological measurement, in general, and Lab-on-a-Chip, in particular.
authors.affiliation: SUPA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Manlio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tassieri
authors.forename: Miles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Padgett
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D012212:Rheology / Q000295:instrumentation*