On the use of organic semiconductors as handles for optical tweezers experiments: trapping and manipulating polyaniline (PANI) microparticles

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the first stable trapping and manipulation of polyaniline (PANI) microparticles using optical tweezers, highlighting their potential as handles for precise optical manipulation in various applications.

Contribution

It introduces PANI as a novel material for optical tweezers, showing stable trapping and characterization, and suggests new applications based on its tunable optical properties.

Findings

Successful trapping of PANI microparticles with optical tweezers.

Trap stiffness depends on bead size, laser power, and position.

PANI's optical properties can be modulated for diverse applications.

Abstract

Here we propose the use of the organic semiconductor polyaniline (PANI) for the preparation of spherical-shaped microparticles to serve as handles in optical tweezers (OT) experiments. The stable trapping and manipulation of PANI beads was demonstrated for the first time, using a Gaussian ($TEM_{00}$) beam optical tweezers. The trap stiffness was characterized for various different parameters such as the bead radius, the laser power and the distance between the bead and the coverslip of the sample chamber, attesting the viability of using such material for optical manipulation. Since the effective optical properties of PANI can be modulated by the synthesis process, new related applications are also proposed. The results of the present work therefore open the door for using semiconductor polymeric materials in OT applications.