Researchers at MIT have developed a new kind of “tractor beam” that can move and manipulate tiny biological particles like cells and DNA using light.
This technology, inspired by the concept seen in “Star Wars,” is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and could help scientists study diseases, sort cells, and investigate DNA.
The groundbreaking invention is described in a recent study published in Nature Communications.
The device works by emitting a beam of light from a silicon-photonics chip to move particles that are millimeters away from the chip.
The light can pass through glass covers that protect biological samples, meaning the cells can stay in a clean, sterile environment while being manipulated.
This innovation makes it easier for researchers to study cells without contaminating them.
Traditional optical tweezers, which use focused light to trap and move particles, require large microscope setups and are difficult to use in many experiments.
This new chip-based approach offers a smaller, more practical alternative that could one day be mass-produced and used by biologists and clinicians around the world.
Current optical tweezers can only move particles that are very close to the chip’s surface. This is a problem because it can contaminate the chip, and cells must be removed from their protective glass coverings to be manipulated.
Every time a new experiment is done, the chip becomes contaminated and has to be replaced. This process wastes both time and resources.
To solve this, the MIT researchers developed a new chip that can manipulate particles much farther from its surface—about 5 millimeters away. This allows scientists to move cells while they are still inside a sterile cover slip, avoiding contamination and reducing the need for constant chip replacement.
The key to this new chip technology is something called an integrated optical phased array. This system includes a series of tiny antennas, made using advanced semiconductor manufacturing methods, that can emit and steer light. By carefully controlling how each antenna sends out light, the researchers can create a focused beam that captures and moves particles at a distance.
Previous phased array systems were designed for long-range uses, like in lidar (a technology used in self-driving cars).
These systems weren’t designed to generate the precise beams needed to trap tiny particles, but the MIT team figured out how to create a tightly focused beam that could act as optical tweezers at much longer distances.
“This is the first time anyone has created chip-based optical tweezers that can trap and move particles over a millimeter away from the chip surface,” said Jelena Notaros, an electrical engineering professor at MIT and the lead researcher on the project.
To test their new chip, the researchers first used it to capture and move tiny polystyrene spheres. After successfully manipulating these particles, they moved on to using the chip to trap and move cancer cells provided by other MIT researchers.
“This wasn’t easy,” said Tal Sneh, a graduate student in electrical engineering at MIT and the lead author of the study. “There were many challenges we had to overcome, like figuring out how to track the movement of the particles and ensure the light beam was strong enough to hold them in place.”
Despite these challenges, the team was able to demonstrate the first-ever cell experiments using chip-based optical tweezers.
Building on their success, the MIT researchers plan to further develop their system. They want to make the light beam’s focal point adjustable, allowing for more precise control over how far from the chip the particles can be manipulated. They also aim to create multiple trap sites on the chip so that scientists can move several particles at the same time.
This technology could have a big impact on how scientists study biological systems. Ben Miller, a professor at the University of Rochester who was not involved in the research, said the new chip could make optical tweezing experiments more affordable and accessible to more scientists. He also sees potential for its use in disease diagnosis, where precise manipulation of cells could improve the sensitivity of tests.
Overall, this new chip-based tractor beam could revolutionize how scientists study cells, diseases, and DNA, offering a smaller, cheaper, and more effective tool for biological research.
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Source: MIT.
