Optical Manipulation of Vesicles for Optofluidic Applications
In this report, we review our recent results in the optical micromanipulation of vesicles. Traditionally, vesicle manipulation has been possible by employing photon momentum and optical trapping, giving rise to unique observations of vesicle shape changes and soft matter mechanics. Contrary to these attempts, we employ photon energy rather than momentum, by sensitizing vesicles with an oxidizing moiety. The later converts incident photons to reactive oxygen species, which in turn attack and compromise the stability of the vesicle membrane. Both coherent and incoherent radiation was employed. Polymersome re-organization into smaller diameter vesicles was possible by focusing the excitation beam in the vicinity of the polymersomes. Extended vesicle illumination with a collimated beam lead to their complete destabilization and micelle formation. Single particle analysis revealed that payload release takes place within seconds of illumination in an explosive burst. We will discuss the destabilization and payload release kinetics, as revealed by high resolution microscopy at the single particle level, as well as potential applications in single cell biomodulation.