Optical tweezers have become the method of choice in single-molecule manipulation
studies. In this Primer, we first review the physical principles of optical tweezers and the …

Optical trapping and manipulation of micrometre-sized particles was first reported in 1970.
Since then, it has been successfully implemented in two size ranges: the subnanometre …

Optical tweezers are devices that use a single, strongly focused laser beam for the remote,
noncontact trapping and manipulation of microscopic objects. Since the first demonstration …

Optical tweezers use the forces exerted by a strongly focused beam of light to trap and move
objects ranging in size from tens of nanometres to tens of micrometres. Since their …

Since their invention just over 20 years ago, optical traps have emerged as a powerful tool
with broad-reaching applications in biology and physics. Capabilities have evolved from …

It has been over 20 years since the pioneering work of Arthur Ashkin, and in the intervening
years, the field of optical tweezers has grown tremendously. Optical tweezers are now being …

A general introduction to surface and interfacial forces, perfectly combining theoretical
concepts, experimental techniques and practical applications. In this completely updated …

The force exerted by an optical trap on a dielectric bead in a fluid is often found by fitting a
Lorentzian to the power spectrum of Brownian motion of the bead in the trap. We present …

At timescales once deemed immeasurably small by Einstein, the random movement of
Brownian particles in a liquid is expected to be replaced by ballistic motion. So far, an …

The invention of optical tweezers more than three decades ago has opened new avenues in
the study of the mechanical properties of biological molecules and cells. Quantitative force …