Comparative study of methods to calibrate the stiffness of a single-beam gradient-force optical tweezers over various laser trapping powers

Mohammad Sarshar; Winson Wong; Bahman Anvari

doi:10.1117/1.JBO.19.11.115001

6 November 2014 Comparative study of methods to calibrate the stiffness of a single-beam gradient-force optical tweezers over various laser trapping powers

Mohammad Sarshar, Winson Wong, Bahman Anvari

Author Affiliations +

Funded by: National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 19, Issue 11, 115001 (November 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.19.11.115001

Abstract

Optical tweezers have become an important instrument in force measurements associated with various physical, biological, and biophysical phenomena. Quantitative use of optical tweezers relies on accurate calibration of the stiffness of the optical trap. Using the same optical tweezers platform operating at 1064 nm and beads with two different diameters, we present a comparative study of viscous drag force, equipartition theorem, Boltzmann statistics, and power spectral density (PSD) as methods in calibrating the stiffness of a single beam gradient force optical trap at trapping laser powers in the range of 0.05 to 1.38 W at the focal plane. The equipartition theorem and Boltzmann statistic methods demonstrate a linear stiffness with trapping laser powers up to 355 mW, when used in conjunction with video position sensing means. The PSD of a trapped particle’s Brownian motion or measurements of the particle displacement against known viscous drag forces can be reliably used for stiffness calibration of an optical trap over a greater range of trapping laser powers. Viscous drag stiffness calibration method produces results relevant to applications where trapped particle undergoes large displacements, and at a given position sensing resolution, can be used for stiffness calibration at higher trapping laser powers than the PSD method.

Citation Download Citation

Mohammad Sarshar, Winson Wong, and Bahman Anvari "Comparative study of methods to calibrate the stiffness of a single-beam gradient-force optical tweezers over various laser trapping powers," Journal of Biomedical Optics 19(11), 115001 (6 November 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.19.11.115001

Published: 6 November 2014

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

JOURNAL ARTICLE
13 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY