Optical stretching of giant unilamellar vesicles with an integrated dual-beam optical trap.
We have integrated a dual-beam optical trap into a microfluidic platform and used it to study membrane mechanics in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). We demonstrate the trapping and stretching of GUVs and characterize the membrane response to a step stress. We then measure area strain as a function of applied stress to extract the bending modulus of the lipid bilayer in the low-tension regime.
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089,  USA.
Mehmet E
ME
Solmaz
Roshni
R
Biswas
Shalene
S
Sankhagowit
James R
JR
Thompson
Camilo A
CA
Mejia
Noah
N
Malmstadt
Michelle L
ML
Povinelli