A biophotonics toolkit for single cell interrogation

Laser light has many applications in the life sciences ranging from imaging of molecules within living cells to light therapy to treat human diseases. In this talk I will present our optical trapping work, where a focused laser beam is used to pick up and move transparent, microscopic particles and several applications in the life sciences where we have had some success. I will go on to describe the use of quantum dot nanocrystals as high resolution nanothermometers in trapping experiments. I’ll also describe our work developing optofluidic devices capable of performing optical trapping under any microscope, enabling a range of new experiments.