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Method for optically manipulating polymer filaments

  • US 5,079,169 A
  • Filed: 05/22/1990
  • Issued: 01/07/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method of preparing a polymer filament for microscopic examination in an extended condition, comprisingcoupling one end of the filament to a particle in the size range of about 10 nm to 10 gm,suspending the filament and attached particle in a fluid film in a chamber,securing the other end of the filament in the chamber,capturing the particle in an optical trap produced by directing a beam of divergent, coherent light through a collimating lens and directing the resulting collimated beam through a high-numerical aperture objective lens, where the collimating lens is positioned to (a) shift the angle by which the collimated beam produced by directing the divergent beam through the collimating lens is directed against the objective lens, thereby to shift the position of said optical trap produced by directing the collimated beam through the objective lens, and (b) maintain the position of the collimated beam substantially fixed in the plane of the objective lens, so that the beam fills the lens at any beam angle and the light intensity of the trap is substantially independent of position, andmoving the source of the divergent light, to produce a corresponding movement of the optical trap, until the filament is in an extended condition.

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