Optical tweezers have found many applications in the Sciences. Measuring properties of DNA, spectroscopy of trapped particles and cell sorting are possible. Until now, the optical tweezer, or laser tweezer, has been confined to optical laboratories or complex microscopes. These new systems offer use in a class 1 laser environment via a compact, desktop unit.
Elliot Scientific can provide tweezer systems to biochemistry laboratories, chemistry laboratories and the classroom with a turnkey system requiring little laser knowledge. Our tweezers can also be used in education, where we can supply kit versions for undergraduate laboratories and custom tweezers for special applications.
Use of precision manual stages and high quality optics trap the particle in 3 dimensions such that the system can be used to easily manipulate particles of 1 micron to sub micron accuracy. Our optical tweezers bring the same complex physics to biochemistry and chemistry research at a much lower cost.
Through careful choice of the internal diode laser, dielectric spheres, biological samples and cells can all be trapped and manipulated. Once trapped, the cell manipulation is carried out using conjugate beam steering optics. Alternatively, the particle can be trapped and the whole sample moved. Rotation of birefringent particles can be performed with polarisation optics. For those applications where more power is required an external laser can be injected.
