Short Description
Optical Tweezers System (Momentum-Based Force Detection with TIMSOM Architecture)
The optical tweezers system is a high-resolution single-particle manipulation and force measurement platform designed for quantitative investigation of mechanical processes at the micro- and nanoscale. The instrument is based on an infrared laser trap enabling non-contact manipulation of micron-sized particles (e.g., functionalized beads, cellular components) in aqueous environments.
Force detection is performed using momentum-based measurement via back focal plane (BFP) analysis of the redistributed optical momentum. This approach provides direct measurement of optical force independent of trap displacement, enabling piconewton force resolution with high temporal bandwidth.
The system incorporates a TIMSOM (Time-Interleaved Measurement of Scattering and Motion) architecture, allowing independent and simultaneous measurement of force and particle position during active trap modulation. This enables dynamic experiments such as oscillatory microrheology, force-clamp measurements, and frequency-dependent mechanical characterization.
The setup is suitable for applications in cell mechanics, membrane biophysics, active and passive microrheology, protein and polymer mechanics, and the investigation of viscoelastic properties of biological and soft-matter systems.
The combination of direct force readout, high temporal resolution, and independent position detection allows quantitative determination of complex mechanical response functions and material parameters in both linear and nonlinear regimes.
Contact Person
Verena Ruprecht
Research Services
Research Services
At present, no standardized research services are offered as an open-access service platform. The optical tweezers infrastructure is primarily used within collaborative research projects.
Researchers, institutions, or companies interested in potential collaboration or use of the infrastructure are invited to contact Prof. Verena Ruprecht (University of Innsbruck) directly to discuss feasibility, scope of experiments, and possible collaboration formats.
Methods & Expertise for Research Infrastructure
Methods & Expertise Related to the Research Infrastructure
The optical tweezers infrastructure is routinely used within our research group for quantitative mechanobiological investigations. Our expertise encompasses both instrumental development (including collaboration with the manufacturer Sensocell) and independent experimental applications and data analysis.
The group has extensive experience in dynamic force measurements, oscillatory microrheology, force-clamp experiments, and frequency-dependent mechanical characterization of biological samples. The TIMSOM (Time-Interleaved Measurement of Scattering and Motion) architecture enables independent measurement of force and particle position during active trap modulation, which is particularly relevant for nonlinear and time-dependent systems.
Application areas include cellular and nuclear mechanobiology, investigation of mechanical properties during embryonic development, mechanical regulation in aging processes, mechanisms of cell migration (including immune cell migration), and mechanical aspects of tumor invasion and metastasis. In addition, viscoelastic properties of complex biological materials are studied in both linear and nonlinear regimes.
The infrastructure is integrated into existing experimental platforms, including advanced fluorescence microscopy systems, enabling combined mechanical and imaging-based analyses.
Our expertise covers experimental design, instrument calibration, frequency-domain data analysis, modeling of mechanical response functions, and interpretation in the context of biological systems. This makes the infrastructure particularly suitable for collaborative projects at the interface of biophysics, cell biology, and soft-matter/material science research.
At present, no standardized public terms of use are defined for this research infrastructure. Access to the optical tweezers system is granted on a project-specific basis within the framework of scientific collaborations.
Researchers, institutions, or companies interested in potential use of the infrastructure are requested to contact Prof. Verena Ruprecht (University of Innsbruck) directly to discuss possible collaboration formats, access conditions, technical feasibility, scheduling, and any applicable institutional or contractual requirements.