Microrheology with Optical Tweezers of gel-like materials 'is not an option'!

TL;DR

This paper argues that optical tweezers are unsuitable for microrheology of gel-like materials such as living cells, highlighting limitations in current techniques for these complex structures.

Contribution

The study critically evaluates the applicability of optical tweezers for gel-like materials and demonstrates their limitations in such contexts.

Findings

Optical tweezers are effective for complex fluids.

They are not suitable for gel-like materials like living cells.

Limitations prevent their use in certain microrheology applications.

Abstract

Optical tweezers have been successfully adopted as exceptionally sensitive transducers for microrheology studies of complex 'fluids'. Despite the general trend, a similar approach cannot be adopted for microrheology studies of 'gel-like' materials, e.g. living cells.