Optical Tweezers as a Tool for Quantitative Imaging

TL;DR

Optical tweezers equipped with back-focal-plane detection can be used as a quantitative microscopy tool to determine mass distribution, size, and structure of microscopic objects with high precision, extending their application beyond trapping.

Contribution

This paper introduces a novel imaging method using optical tweezers with back-focal-plane detection for quantitative structural analysis of microscopic objects.

Findings

Able to determine size distributions of nearby particles

Measured changing diameters of collagen fibrils

Demonstrated background subtraction with surface-bound microtubules

Abstract

Optical tweezers equipped with position detection allow for application of piconewton-scale forces and high-temporal-resolution measurements of nanometer-scale motion. While typically used for trapping microscopic objects, the optical tweezer detection pathway can also be used for a microscopy technique sensitive to nanometer-sized structures. Optical tweezers most commonly use back-focal-plane detection to determine the position of the trapped object. This technique involves analyzing the interference pattern between scattered and unscattered light. Despite the reliance on interference, we show that an image of an extended object can be understood as a sum of the images of individual point-like particles that make up the object. This allows for optical tweezers with back-focal-plane detection to be used as an imaging tool capable of determining the mass distribution of scanned structures. Furthermore, the sample-orientation-dependent detector response allows for a unique method of background subtraction. We demonstrate the quantitative imaging capabilities of optical tweezer microscopy by determining the size distributions multiple nearby particles and measuring the changing diameter of collagen fibrils. The background subtraction technique is demonstrated by imaging surface-bound microtubules with a strong background from protein aggregate co-adsorption. Optical tweezer microscopy allows for quantitative imaging of objects far from the coverslip surface. This makes it an excellent tool for studying the link between the structure and mechanics of microscopic systems.