ABSTRACT
Optical manipulation techniques provide a powerful and versatile platform to manipulate cells into arbitrary configurations with microscale precision. This chapter summarizes the progress in optical manipulation techniques of biological cells using microfluidic devices and their related applications. It discusses various approaches based on different optophysical mechanisms, including direct optical radiative forces, light-controlled electric fields, opto- or photothermal effects, and laser-driven vortices. The chapter describes multiple ways of utilizing optical energy through advanced optoelectronic devices to manipulate biological objects dynamically in a non-invasive manner. It discusses a few common interesting and important photodynamic and electrokinetic phenomena that occur during optoelectronic trapping and rapid electrokinetic patterning, as well as different configurations of optical trapping that use free propagating optical beams as well as optical fibers for trapping and manipulating biological cells. The chapter also provides information on the applications of optical trapping in biology.
