title: The self-orientation of mammalian cells in optical tweezers--the importance of the nucleus.
abstract: Here we present the first evidence showing that eukaryotic cells can be stably trapped in a single focused Gaussian beam with an orientation that is defined by the nucleus. A mammalian eukaryotic cell (in suspension) is trapped and is re-oriented in the focus of a linearly polarized Gaussian beam with a waist of dimension smaller than the radius of the nucleus. The cell reaches a position relative to the focus that is dictated by the nucleus and nuclear components. Our studies illustrate that the force exerted by the optical tweezers at locations within the cell can be predicted theoretically; the data obtained in this way is consistent with the experimental observations.
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Highfield, SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Nicolas M B
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Perney
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Horak
authors.forename: Neil A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Melvin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D052898:Optical Tweezers; D015018:Ytterbium
chemical_list: D015018:Ytterbium