Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Spatio-Temporal Manipulation of Small GTPase Activity at Subcellular Level and on Timescale of Seconds in Living Cells
Published on: March 9, 2012
Spatially and temporally resolved delivery of stimuli to single cells
1Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-1700, USA.
Abstract:
This Communication describes the photolysis of individual optically trapped vesicles for delivering spatially and temporally resolved stimuli to single cells. A submicrometer-sized vesicle, which encapsulates the stimuli of interest, is precisely positioned with respect to a select cell by optical trapping. Application of a single focused UV laser pulse photolyzes the trapped vesicle and releases the stimuli onto a localized region of the cell. The spatial resolution of this technique is on the order of several hundreds of nanometers, while the temporal resolution lies in the sub-microsecond range.
Related Concept Videos
Yeast Signaling
Contact-dependent Signaling
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Paracrine Signaling
What is Cell Signaling?
Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
Overview of Cell Signaling
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...

