title: Rotation of single bacterial cells relative to the optical axis using optical tweezers.
abstract: Using a single-beam, oscillating optical tweezers, we demonstrate trapping and rotation of rod-shaped bacterial cells with respect to the optical axis. The angle of rotation, θ, is determined by the amplitude of the oscillation. It is shown that θ can be measured from the longitudinal cell intensity profiles in the corresponding phase-contrast images. The technique allows viewing the cell from different perspectives and can provide a useful tool in fluorescence microscopy for the analysis of three-dimensional subcellular structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carmon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feingold
mesh_terms: D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology*; D016011:Normal Distribution; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D012399:Rotation