Assessing the Viscoelasticity of Photopolymer Nanowires Using a Three-Parameter Solid Model for Bending Recovery Motion

Photopolymer nanowires prepared by two-photon polymerization direct laser writing (TPP-DLW) are the building blocks of many microstructure systems. These nanowires possess viscoelastic characteristics that define their deformations under applied forces when operated in a dynamic regime. A simple mechanical model was previously used to describe the bending recovery motion of deflected nanowire cantilevers in Newtonian liquids. The inverse problem is targeted in this work; the experimental observations are used to determine the nanowire physical characteristics. Most importantly, based on the linear three-parameter solid model, we derive explicit formulas to calculate the viscoelastic material parameters. It is shown that the effective elastic modulus of the studied nanowires is two orders of magnitude lower than measured for the bulk material. Additionally, we report on a notable effect of the surrounding aqueous glucose solution on the elasticity and the intrinsic viscosity of the studied nanowires made of Ormocomp.

Optically Manipulated Microtools to Measure Adhesion of the Nanoparticle-Targeting Ligand Glutathione to Brain Endothelial Cells

Targeting nanoparticles as drug delivery platforms is crucial to facilitate their cellular entry. Docking of nanoparticles by targeting ligands on cell membranes is the first step for the initiation of cellular uptake. As a model system, we studied brain microvascular endothelial cells, which form the anatomical basis of the blood-brain barrier, and the tripeptide glutathione, one of the most effective targeting ligands of nanoparticles to cross the blood-brain barrier. To investigate this initial docking step between glutathione and the membrane of living brain endothelial cells, we applied our recently developed innovative optical method. We present a microtool, with a task-specific geometry used as a probe, actuated by multifocus optical tweezers to characterize the adhesion probability and strength of glutathione-coated surfaces to the cell membrane of endothelial cells. The binding probability of the glutathione-coated surface and the adhesion force between the microtool and cell membrane was measured in a novel arrangement: cells were cultured on a vertical polymer wall and the mechanical forces were generated laterally and at the same time, perpendicularly to the plasma membrane. The adhesion force values were also determined with more conventional atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements using functionalized colloidal probes. The optical trapping-based method was found to be suitable to measure very low adhesion forces (≤ 20 pN) without a high level of noise, which is characteristic for AFM measurements in this range. The holographic optical tweezers-directed functionalized microtools may help characterize the adhesion step of nanoparticles initiating transcytosis and select ligands to target nanoparticles.

Single-Cell Elasticity Measurement with an Optically Actuated Microrobot

A cell elasticity measurement method is introduced that uses polymer microtools actuated by holographic optical tweezers. The microtools were prepared with two-photon polymerization. Their shape enables the approach of the cells in any lateral direction. In the presented case, endothelial cells grown on vertical polymer walls were probed by the tools in a lateral direction. The use of specially shaped microtools prevents the target cells from photodamage that may arise during optical trapping. The position of the tools was recorded simply with video microscopy and analyzed with image processing methods. We critically compare the resulting Young’s modulus values to those in the literature obtained by other methods. The application of optical tweezers extends the force range available for cell indentations measurements down to the fN regime. Our approach demonstrates a feasible alternative to the usual vertical indentation experiments.

The Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate, a Beneficial Adjuvant Molecule in Cystic Fibrosis, on Bronchial Epithelial Cells Expressing a Wild-Type or Mutant CFTR Channel

Clinical and experimental results with inhaled sodium bicarbonate as an adjuvant therapy in cystic fibrosis (CF) are promising due to its mucolytic and bacteriostatic properties, but its direct effect has not been studied on respiratory epithelial cells. Our aim was to establish and characterize co-culture models of human CF bronchial epithelial (CFBE) cell lines expressing a wild-type (WT) or mutant (deltaF508) CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) channel with human vascular endothelial cells and investigate the effects of bicarbonate. Vascular endothelial cells induced better barrier properties in CFBE cells as reflected by the higher resistance and lower permeability values. Activation of CFTR by cAMP decreased the electrical resistance in WT but not in mutant CFBE cell layers confirming the presence and absence of functional channels, respectively. Sodium bicarbonate (100 mM) was well-tolerated by CFBE cells: it slightly reduced the impedance of WT but not that of the mutant CFBE cells. Sodium bicarbonate significantly decreased the more-alkaline intracellular pH of the mutant CFBE cells, while the barrier properties of the models were only minimally changed. These observations indicate that sodium bicarbonate is beneficial to deltaF508-CFTR expressing CFBE cells. Thus, sodium bicarbonate may have a direct therapeutic effect on the bronchial epithelium.

A transition to stable one-dimensional swimming enhances E. coli motility through narrow channels

Living organisms often display adaptive strategies that allow them to move efficiently even in strong confinement. With one single degree of freedom, the angle of a rotating bundle of flagella, bacteria provide one of the simplest examples of locomotion in the living world. Here we show that a purely physical mechanism, depending on a hydrodynamic stability condition, is responsible for a confinement induced transition between two swimming states in E. coli. While in large channels bacteria always crash onto confining walls, when the cross section falls below a threshold, they leave the walls to move swiftly on a stable swimming trajectory along the channel axis. We investigate this phenomenon for individual cells that are guided through a sequence of micro-fabricated tunnels of decreasing cross section. Our results challenge current theoretical predictions and suggest effective design principles for microrobots by showing that motility based on helical propellers provides a robust swimming strategy for exploring narrow spaces.

Brownian fluctuations and hydrodynamics of a microhelix near a solid wall

We combine two-photon lithography and optical tweezers to investigate the Brownian fluctuations and propeller characteristics of a microfabricated helix. From the analysis of mean squared displacements and time correlation functions we recover the components of the full mobility tensor. We find that Brownian motion displays correlations between angular and translational fluctuations from which we can directly measure the hydrodynamic coupling coefficient that is responsible for thrust generation. By varying the distance of the microhelices from a no-slip boundary we can systematically measure the effects of a nearby wall on the resistance matrix. Our results indicate that a rotated helix moves faster when a nearby no-slip boundary is present, providing a quantitative insight on thrust enhancement in confined geometries for both synthetic and biological microswimmers.

Multiview microscopy of single cells through microstructure-based indirect optical manipulation

Fluorescent observation of cells generally suffers from the limited axial resolution due to the elongated point spread function of the microscope optics. Consequently, three-dimensional imaging results in axial resolution that is several times worse than the transversal. The optical solutions to this problem usually require complicated optics and extreme spatial stability. A straightforward way to eliminate anisotropic resolution is to fuse images recorded from multiple viewing directions achieved mostly by the mechanical rotation of the entire sample. In the presented approach, multiview imaging of single cells is implemented by rotating them around an axis perpendicular to the optical axis by means of holographic optical tweezers. For this, the cells are indirectly trapped and manipulated with special microtools made with two-photon polymerization. The cell is firmly attached to the microtool and is precisely manipulated with 6 degrees of freedom. The total control over the cells' position allows for its multiview fluorescence imaging from arbitrarily selected directions. The image stacks obtained this way are combined into one 3D image array with a multiview image processing pipeline resulting in isotropic optical resolution that approaches the lateral diffraction limit. The presented tool and manipulation scheme can be readily applied in various microscope platforms.

Dynamic density shaping of photokinetic E. coli

Many motile microorganisms react to environmental light cues with a variety of motility responses guiding cells towards better conditions for survival and growth. The use of spatial light modulators could help to elucidate the mechanisms of photo-movements while, at the same time, providing an efficient strategy to achieve spatial and temporal control of cell concentration. Here we demonstrate that millions of bacteria, genetically modified to swim smoothly with a light controllable speed, can be arranged into complex and reconfigurable density patterns using a digital light projector. We show that a homogeneous sea of freely swimming bacteria can be made to morph between complex shapes. We model non-local effects arising from memory in light response and show how these can be mitigated by a feedback control strategy resulting in the detailed reproduction of grayscale density images.

Many bacteria can move in response to environmental signals. This helps guide them towards better conditions for growth and survival. Escherichia coli is a bacterium that can swim quickly through liquid, using tiny propeller-like structures that rotate many times per second. These ‘propellers’ are powered by a cellular motor, called the flagellar motor, which similar to an electric motor, requires an energy source to drive movement.

Proteorhodopsin, a protein originally isolated from free-swimming micro-organisms in the ocean, is an alternative energy source that helps bacteria move. The protein is located close to the surface of the cell, where it acts like a solar panel and captures energy from light. In cells powered by proteorhodopsin, the intensity of light from their environment determines their swimming speed: brighter light means faster movement, and less light, slower movement. Proteorhodopsin is now also a useful tool in the laboratory. For example, genetically engineering bacteria to produce proteorhodopsin provides a way to control their movement remotely, using a light source.

Swimming bacteria, much like cars in city traffic, are known to accumulate in areas where their speed decreases. By controlling swimming speed with proteorhodopsin, researchers can manipulate the local density of bacteria simply by projecting different patterns of light.

To study the factors influencing this phenomenon, Frangipane et al. used genetically modified E. coli that could respond to light via proteorhodopsin to make layers of cells that could then have light patterns projected onto them. The results showed that the bacteria responded slowly to these stimuli, which was the main factor limiting the resolution of the final pattern they formed. A simple feedback mechanism, which compared the pattern formed by the cells to the desired image and updated the projected light accordingly, was enough to solve this problem. This way, the layers of E.coli could be turned into a near-perfect copy of the original image.

This work allows us to control the movement of large populations of bacteria more precisely than ever before. This could be extremely valuable for building the next generation of microscopic devices. For example, bacteria could be made to surround a larger object such as a machine part or a drug carrier, and then used as living propellers to transport it where it is needed.

Light controlled 3D micromotors powered by bacteria

Self-propelled bacteria can be integrated into synthetic micromachines and act as biological propellers. So far, proposed designs suffer from low reproducibility, large noise levels or lack of tunability. Here we demonstrate that fast, reliable and tunable bio-hybrid micromotors can be obtained by the self-assembly of synthetic structures with genetically engineered biological propellers. The synthetic components consist of 3D interconnected structures having a rotating unit that can capture individual bacteria into an array of microchambers so that cells contribute maximally to the applied torque. Bacterial cells are smooth swimmers expressing a light-driven proton pump that allows to optically control their swimming speed. Using a spatial light modulator, we can address individual motors with tunable light intensities allowing the dynamic control of their rotational speeds. Applying a real-time feedback control loop, we can also command a set of micromotors to rotate in unison with a prescribed angular speed.

Surface-modified complex SU-8 microstructures for indirect optical manipulation of single cells

We introduce a method that combines two-photon polymerization (TPP) and surface functionalization to enable the indirect optical manipulation of live cells. TPP-made 3D microstructures were coated specifically with a multilayer of the protein streptavidin and non-specifically with IgG antibody using polyethylene glycol diamine as a linker molecule. Protein density on their surfaces was quantified for various coating methods. The streptavidin-coated structures were shown to attach to biotinated cells reproducibly. We performed basic indirect optical micromanipulation tasks with attached structure-cell couples using complex structures and a multi-focus optical trap. The use of such extended manipulators for indirect optical trapping ensures to keep a safe distance between the trapping beams and the sensitive cell and enables their 6 degrees of freedom actuation.

Optically Trapped Surface-Enhanced Raman Probes Prepared by Silver Photoreduction to 3D Microstructures

3D microstructures partially covered by silver nanoparticles have been developed and tested for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in combination with optical tweezers. The microstructures made by two-photon polymerization of SU-8 photoresist were manipulated in a dual beam optical trap. The active area of the structures was covered by a SERS-active silver layer using chemically assisted photoreduction from silver nitrate solutions. Silver layers of different grain size distributions were created by changing the photoreduction parameters and characterized by scanning electron microscopy. The structures were tested by measuring the SERS spectra of emodin and hypericin.

Holographic multi-focus 3D two-photon polymerization with real-time calculated holograms

Two-photon polymerization enables the fabrication of micron sized structures with submicron resolution. Spatial light modulators (SLM) have already been used to create multiple polymerizing foci in the photoresist by holographic beam shaping, thus enabling the parallel fabrication of multiple microstructures. Here we demonstrate the parallel two-photon polymerization of single 3D microstructures by multiple holographically translated foci. Multiple foci were created by phase holograms, which were calculated real-time on an NVIDIA CUDA GPU, and displayed on an electronically addressed SLM. A 3D demonstrational structure was designed that is built up from a nested set of dodecahedron frames of decreasing size. Each individual microstructure was fabricated with the parallel and coordinated motion of 5 holographic foci. The reproducibility and the high uniformity of features of the microstructures were verified by scanning electron microscopy.

Optical forces through guided light deflections

Optical trapping and manipulation typically relies on shaping focused light to control the optical force, usually on spherical objects. However, one can also shape the object to control the light deflection arising from the light-matter interaction and, hence, achieve desired optomechanical effects. In this work we look into the object shaping aspect and its potential for controlled optical manipulation. Using a simple bent waveguide as example, our numerical simulations show that the guided deflection of light efficiently converts incident light momentum into optical force with one order-of-magnitude improvement in the efficiency factor relative to a microbead, which is comparable to the improvement expected from orthogonal deflection with a perfect mirror. This improvement is illustrated in proof-of-principle experiments demonstrating the optical manipulation of two-photon polymerized waveguides. Results show that the force on the waveguide exceeds the combined forces on spherical trapping handles. Furthermore, it shows that static illumination can exert a constant force on a moving structure, unlike the position-dependent forces from harmonic potentials in conventional trapping.

Hydrodynamic synchronization of light driven microrotors

Hydrodynamic synchronization is a fundamental physical phenomenon by which self-sustained oscillators communicate through perturbations in the surrounding fluid and converge to a stable synchronized state. This is an important factor for the emergence of regular and coordinated patterns in the motions of cilia and flagella. When dealing with biological systems, however, it is always hard to disentangle internal signaling mechanisms from external purely physical couplings. We have used the combination of two-photon polymerization and holographic optical trapping to build a mesoscale model composed of chiral propellers rotated by radiation pressure. The two microrotors can be synchronized by hydrodynamic interactions alone although the relative torques have to be finely tuned. Dealing with a micron sized system we treat synchronization as a stochastic phenomenon and show that the phase lag between the two microrotors is distributed according to a stationary Fokker-Planck equation for an overdamped particle over a tilted periodic potential. Synchronized states correspond to minima in this potential whose locations are shown to depend critically on the detailed geometry of the propellers.

Wave-guided optical waveguides

This work primarily aims to fabricate and use two photon polymerization (2PP) microstructures capable of being optically manipulated into any arbitrary orientation. We have integrated optical waveguides into the structures and therefore have freestanding waveguides, which can be positioned anywhere in the sample at any orientation using optical traps. One of the key aspects to the work is the change in direction of the incident plane wave, and the marked increase in the numerical aperture demonstrated. Hence, the optically steered waveguide can tap from a relatively broader beam and then generate a more tightly confined light at its tip. The paper contains both simulation, related to the propagation of light through the waveguide, and experimental demonstrations using our BioPhotonics Workstation. In a broader context, this work shows that optically trapped microfabricated structures can potentially help bridge the diffraction barrier. This structure-mediated paradigm may be carried forward to open new possibilities for exploiting beams from far-field optics down to the subwavelength domain.