Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Riccardo Tognato, Philip H. Jones
Summary: In this paper, the trapping of healthy red blood cells in optical tweezers is numerically studied and it is found that the biconcave shape of the cells significantly affects the optical forces and torques. It is also demonstrated that adding an additional laser beam can control the orientation of the trapped cells. This investigation sheds light on the trapping mechanism of healthy erythrocytes and provides guidance for designing new experiments.
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Yanzheng Xie, Xiaoshuai Liu
Summary: Red blood cells serve as natural vehicles to deliver oxygen in the body and are important indicators for biomedical analysis. Optical tweezers provide a flexible tool for precise manipulation and quantitative characterization of RBCs' physiological mechanisms and viscoelastic properties.
JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Pavel Yale, Michel A. Kouacou, Jean-Michel E. Konin, Eugene Megnassan, Jeremie T. Zoueu
Summary: This paper investigates the lateral deformation and elastic stiffness of human red blood cells (RBCs) when laterally indented by an optically trapped silica bead. It demonstrates the importance of considering lateral force and cell-bead interaction during the experiment. The results show that this approach can be used as a routine method for studying RBCs.
Article
Cell Biology
Claudia Bernecker, Maria Augusta R. B. F. Lima, Catalin D. Ciubotaru, Peter Schlenke, Isabel Dorn, Dan Cojoc
Summary: This study introduces a novel optical tweezer approach to measure the deformation and elasticity of single red blood cells, providing new insights into the biomechanical characterization of cultured red blood cells. The results show that red blood cells cultured with human platelet lysate exhibit similar features to native red blood cells under optical forces, while those cultured with plasma display different characteristics.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pisrut Phummirat, Nicholas Mann, Daryl Preece
Summary: Optical tweezers have been proven as a useful tool for improving human understanding of the microscopic world with broad applications across science since their inception. In recent years, they have found appealing applications in the field of biomedical engineering, particularly with the utilization of metallic nanostructures like gold nanoparticles. Recent research progress in utilizing optically trapped gold nanomaterials for bioengineering problems has been highlighted, with discussions on challenges and future directions in this field.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Rob Ward, Sapna Ravindran, Mariela R. Otazo, Braden Cradock, Ebubekir Avci, Graeme Gillies, Christina Coker, Martin A. K. Williams
Summary: The advancement in technologies allowing probing of individual microscopic particles has opened up new experimental possibilities in colloidal systems. However, due to the probabilistic nature of the process, testing a large number of particle pairs is necessary under each set of experimental conditions to obtain meaningful data.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Md Faiyaz Jamil, Mishal Pokharel, Kihan Park
Summary: The article summarizes the achievements, future possibilities, and challenges facing light-powered microbots. It also proposes feasible ways to overcome challenges, providing assistance for future researchers in studying and developing the next generation of light-actuated microbots.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Review
Physiology
Gregory Barshtein, Ivana Pajic-Lijakovic, Alexander Gural
Summary: Red blood cells' deformability plays a crucial role in adapting to flow conditions, with high deformability facilitating flow through small blood vessels. Loss of deformability may lead to cell rigidity and dysfunction.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruixue Zhu, Tatiana Avsievich, Xinyang Su, Alexander Bykov, Alexey Popov, Igor Meglinski
Summary: Proper rheological properties of red blood cells (RBC), including flexibility and aggregability, are crucial for healthy blood microcirculation. This study found that low-level laser radiation has positive effects on RBC, improving their deformability and weakening the strength of cell-cell interaction.
JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Optics
Dawid Kucharski, Monika Bartczak
Summary: The study showed a significant influence of low-level red light on the dynamics of red blood cells, which is important for understanding the laser treatment mechanism. The proposed phase image analysis algorithm improves the precision of cell tracing and may have wide applications in the field of life science.
OPTICS AND LASER TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Andrew B. Matheson, Lynn Paterson, Amanda J. Wright, Tania Mendonca, Manlio Tassieri, Paul A. Dalgarno
Summary: The novel 3D microrheology system OpTIMuM integrates Optical Tweezers with Integrated Multiplane Microscopy for the first time, allowing the precise tracking of optically trapped beads with around 20 nm accuracy along the optical axis. This system does not require a high precision z-stage or separate calibration sample, and features a simple yet effective in situ spatial calibration method using image sharpness. We demonstrated its effectiveness by measuring the viscosity of water in three dimensions simultaneously.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
P. B. Ermolinskiy, A. E. Lugovtsov, A. N. Semenov, A. Priezzhev
Summary: The study shows that the shape of a red blood cell changes after optical trapping, but ceases to change when the trapping duration is less than 5 minutes and the laser beam power is below 60 mW. An increase in laser power can lead to cell folding after 1 minute and membrane rupture after 1-3 minutes.
QUANTUM ELECTRONICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ziya Isiksacan, Angelo D'Alessandro, Susan M. Wolf, David H. McKenna, Shannon N. Tessier, Erdem Kucukal, A. Aslihan Gokaltun, Nishaka William, Rebecca D. Sandlin, John Bischof, Narla Mohandas, Michael P. Busch, Caglar Elbuken, Umut A. Gurkan, Mehmet Toner, Jason P. Acker, Martin L. Yarmush, O. Berk Usta
Summary: Transfusion of red blood cells is a valuable and widespread treatment in modern medicine. Current practices in blood transfusion overlook the variability in stored red blood cell quality. It is necessary to rethink transfusion medicine workflows and utilize novel technologies for assessing red blood cell quality.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xionggui Tang, Yanhua Xu, Yi Shen
Summary: This study introduces a method for creating asymmetrical potential wells using variable phase gradient profiles tailored by holograms, providing dynamic and precise manipulation of particles. By changing the holograms, the motion path, step distance and velocity of nanoparticles can be easily adjusted, offering a highly promising new way to optically manipulate particles.
RESULTS IN PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Katarina Rebrosova, Silvie Bernatova, Martin Siler, Magdalena Uhlirova, Ota Samek, Jan Jezek, Veronika Hola, Filip Ruzicka, Pavel Zemanek
Summary: Urinary tract infections are among the most common infections worldwide. This study demonstrates that Raman spectroscopy can be used as a rapid diagnostic tool to differentiate causative agents and determine antimicrobial susceptibility. It holds great potential for clinical diagnostics in the future.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
G. S. Correia, J. S. A. Falcao, A. G. Castro Neto, Y. J. A. Silva, L. T. B. Mendonca, A. O. S. Barros, R. Santos-Oliveira, W. M. de Azevedo, S. Alves Junior, B. S. Santos
Summary: In this study, electrospun fibers containing hydroxyapatite nanocrystal composites were successfully prepared by inducing in situ growth of the ceramic phase in alginate gel added to PVA matrices. The fibers exhibited excellent morphological and mechanical properties as well as biocompatibility.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Carinna N. Lima, Weslley F. Oliveira, Paloma M. M. Silva, Paulo E. Cabral Filho, Kristian Juul-Madsen, Patricia Moura, Thomas Vorup-Jensen, Adriana Fontes
Summary: Quantum dots (QDs) have been widely used in glycobiology due to their photostability and ability to be combined with lectins. This study evaluated the adsorption and covalent coupling strategies to conjugate QDs with recombinant human MBL (rhMBL). The most efficient nanoprobe was selected, which showed high labeling ability for cells.
METHODS AND APPLICATIONS IN FLUORESCENCE
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Maria do Socorro do N. Amorim, Jerias A. Batista, Francisco Maia Junior, Adriana Fontes, Ralph Santos-Oliveira, Luciana M. Rebelo Alencar
Summary: This study investigates the biophysical and ultrastructural early erythrocyte membrane alterations in patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia using Atomic Force Microscopy. Significant differences in cell rigidity, adhesion, volume, and roughness were observed, providing new perspectives for understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Iago Dillion Lima Cavalcanti, Paulo Euzebio Cabral Filho, Adriana Fontes, Rafael Matos Ximenes, Fabricio Oliveira Souto, Otilia Deusdenia Loiola Pessoa, Mariane Cajuba de Britto Lira Nogueira, Nereide Stela Santos Magalhaes
Summary: This study characterized the absorption and emission spectral profiles of oncoA and found that oncoA-loaded nanoparticles could serve as promising fluorescent probes for cellular uptake studies.
PHOTODIAGNOSIS AND PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Sueden O. Souza, Bruno L. Raposo, Jose F. Sarmento-Neto, Julio S. Reboucas, Danielle P. C. Macedo, Regina C. B. Q. Figueiredo, Beate S. Santos, Anderson Z. Freitas, Paulo E. Cabral Filho, Martha S. Ribeiro, Adriana Fontes
Summary: The study found that the tetracationic metalloporphyrin Zn(II) meso-tetrakis(N-n-hexylpyridinium-2-yl)porphyrin is a promising photosensitizer for antimicrobial photodynamic inactivation of Candida albicans. The results demonstrated effective eradication of yeast and biofilm forms of C. albicans with minimal toxicity to mammalian cells.
Article
Biophysics
Jessika F. F. Ribeiro, Jose R. S. Melo, Caroline de L. Santos, Claudilene R. Chaves, Paulo E. Cabral Filho, Goreti Pereira, Beate S. Santos, Giovannia A. L. Pereira, Daniela S. Rosa, Rogerio T. Ribeiro, Adriana Fontes
Summary: We developed a nanostructured electrochemical immunosensing platform using quantum dots and screen-printed carbon electrodes for the detection of the Zika virus envelope protein. The platform showed high sensitivity and specificity for EP-ZIKV detection.
COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Optics
Giovanni Volpe, Onofrio M. Marago, Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Giuseppe Pesce, Alexander B. Stilgoe, Giorgio Volpe, Georgiy Tkachenko, Viet Giang Truong, Sile Nic Chormaic, Fatemeh Kalantarifard, Parviz Elahi, Mikael Kall, Agnese Callegari, Manuel Marques, Antonio A. R. Neves, Wendel L. Moreira, Adriana Fontes, Carlos L. Cesar, Rosalba Saija, Abir Saidi, Paul Beck, Joerg S. Eismann, Peter Banzer, Thales F. D. Fernandes, Francesco Pedaci, Warwick P. Bowen, Rahul Vaippully, Muruga Lokesh, Basudev Roy, Gregor Thalhammer-Thurner, Monika Ritsch-Marte, Laura Perez Garcia, Alejandro Arzola, Isaac Perez Castillo, Aykut Argun, Till M. Muenker, Bart E. Vos, Timo Betz, Ilaria Cristiani, Paolo Minzioni, Peter J. Reece, Fan Wang, David McGloin, Justus C. Ndukaife, Romain Quidant, Reece P. Roberts, Cyril Laplane, Thomas Volz, Reuven Gordon, Dag Hanstorp, Javier Tello Marmolejo, Graham D. Bruce, Kishan Dholakia, Tongcang Li, Oto Brzobohaty, Stephen H. Simpson, Pavel Zemanek, Felix Ritort, Yael Roichman, Valeriia Bobkova, Raphael Wittkowski, Cornelia Denz, G. V. Pavan Kumar, Antonino Foti, Maria Grazia Donato, Pietro G. Gucciardi, Lucia Gardini, Giulio Bianchi, Anatolii Kashchuk, Marco Capitanio, Lynn Paterson, Philip H. Jones, Kirstine Berg-Sorensen, Younes F. Barooji, Lene B. Oddershede, Pegah Pouladian, Daryl Preece, Caroline Beck Adiels, Anna Chiara De Luca, Alessandro Magazzu, David Bronte Ciriza, Maria Antonia Iati, Grover A. Swartzlander
Summary: Optical tweezers are tools that use light to push, trap, and manipulate objects without physical contact. Since the 1970s, they have evolved into sophisticated instruments and have been widely used in various fields such as life sciences, physics, and engineering. Applications include precise force and torque measurement, micro-rheology of complex fluids, spectroscopy of single micro- and nano-particles, single-cell analysis, and statistical-physics experiments. This roadmap provides insights into the theoretical foundations, designs, and setups of optical forces and tweezers, and offers perspectives for applications in research fields ranging from biophysics to space exploration.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICS-PHOTONICS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Bruno L. Raposo, Sueden Souza, Gleyciane S. Santana, Max T. A. Lima, Jose F. Sarmento-Neto, Julio S. Reboucas, Goreti Pereira, Beate S. Santos, Paulo E. Cabral Filho, Martha S. Ribeiro, Adriana Fontes
Summary: Researchers proposed a novel method of using polyvinylpyrro-lidone (PVP) coated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in combination with cationic Zn(II) porphyrins (ZnPs) for photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of Candida albicans infections. The AgNPs-ZnPs system achieved complete eradication of Candida albicans at lower porphyrin concentrations, reducing the risk of antifungal drug resistance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NANOMEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jessica D. S. Queiroz, Igor M. R. Moura, Giovannia A. L. Pereira, Adriana Fontes, Goreti Pereira, Beate S. Santos
Summary: Defects in ZnSe quantum dots increase trap states, leading to a drastic reduction in fluorescence output, a major drawback. Surface vacancies causing energy traps play a significant role in emission quantum yield. This study uses photoactivation procedures to decrease surface defects of ZnSe QDs and improve radiative pathways. The best results were obtained with a nitrate precursor and a Zn/Se ratio of 1.2, showing a 400% increase in fluorescence intensity. Potential applications in biomedicine can be enhanced by improving ZnSe QDs fluorescence.
JOURNAL OF FLUORESCENCE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Optics
Gustavo S. Wiederhecker, S. B. Cavalcanti, Adriana Fontes, Jorge Garcia-Sucerquia, Dario Perez, Esteban Vera, Andrea Bragas, Christiano De Matos, Alejandro Fainstein, Daniel Felinto, Debora M. B. P. Milori, Stephen P. Walborn
Summary: Over the past 50 years, South American optics research has made remarkable growth and significant contributions in areas such as quantum optics, holography, spectroscopy, nonlinear optics, statistical optics, nanophotonics, and integrated photonics. This research has driven economic development in sectors like telecom, biophotonics, biometrics, and agri-sensing. The joint feature issue between JOSA A and JOSA B showcases cutting-edge optics research from the region, fostering a sense of community and promoting collaboration among researchers.
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA A-OPTICS IMAGE SCIENCE AND VISION
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Joalen P. Monte, Adriana Fontes, Beate S. Santos, Giovannia A. L. Pereira, Goreti Pereira
Summary: The development of multifunctional materials for bone tissue repair has attracted researchers' interest. Several materials classes have been studied and optimized for this aim, such as implants based on metals, ceramics, glasses, and composites. HAp-based scaffolds doped with AgNPs have shown promising antibacterial properties and good biocompatibility, which can potentially overcome the issue of implant-related infections.
Article
Microbiology
Abdenego R. Silva, Fernanda V. Cabral, Camila R. Silva, Daniela F. T. Silva, Anderson Z. Freitas, Adriana Fontes, Martha S. Ribeiro
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of photodynamic inactivation mediated by methylene blue (MB-PDI) or 1,9-dimethyl MB (DMMB-PDI) combined with a red LED against the hospital-acquired pathogen C. auris. DMMB-PDI successfully eradicated C. auris, while MB only killed cells when exposed to the highest light dose. DMMB-PDI promoted higher levels of reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, and mitochondrial membrane potential compared to MB. Additionally, DMMB-PDI was able to inhibit biofilm formation and destroy mature biofilms, with no toxicity observed in fibroblasts. We conclude that DMMB-PDI holds great potential to combat the global threat posed by C. auris.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joalen P. Monte, Adriana Fontes, Giovannia A. L. Pereira, Goreti Pereira, Beate S. Santos
Summary: This study presents the development of composite materials based on calcium polyphosphate, alginate, and magnesium for bone tissue applications. The results confirm the formation of composites with hydroxyapatite structure, indicating their potential for bone repair applications.
RESULTS IN CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Isabelle M. A. Viegas, Ingrid W. Goncalves, Beate S. Santos, Adriana Fontes, Maria Goreti C. Pereira, Claudete F. Pereira, Giovannia A. L. Pereira
Summary: This study proposes the synthesis of photoluminescent silver selenide quantum dots using experimental design techniques and mercaptosuccinic acid as a capping agent. By optimizing the synthesis conditions, the resulting nanocrystals exhibit good photoluminescence properties and are suitable for biological diagnostics.
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
(2022)