Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Staphylococcus aureus Growth using Human Hemoglobin as an Iron Source
Published on: February 7, 2013
Laser trap ionization for identification of human erythrocytes with variable hemoglobin quantitation
Michele Kelley1, James Cooper1, Daniel Devito1
1Middle Tennessee State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States.
Abstract:
An approach to an established technique that is potentially applicable for a more comprehensive understanding of the electrical properties of red blood cells (RBCs) is presented. Using a high-intensity gradient laser trap, RBCs can be singly trapped and consequentially ionized. The subsequent dynamics of the ionized cell allows one to calculate the charge developed and the ionization energy (IE) through a Newtonian-based analysis. RBCs with two different hemoglobin (Hb) types were ionized. The first sample was identified as carrying Hb HbAA (normal Hb) and the second one was identified as carrying HbAC (HbC trait). By analyzing the charge developed on each cell and several other related factors, we were able to discern a difference between the main Hb types contained within the individual RBC, independent of cell size. A relationship between the charge developed and the IE of the cell was also established based on the electrical properties of RBCs. Thus, we present this laser trapping technique as a study of the electrical properties of RBCs and as possible biomedical tool to be used for the differentiation of Hb types.
More Related Videos
08:48Identification of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Paraffin-Embedded Feline Arterial Thrombi using Immunofluorescence Microscopy
Published on: March 29, 2020
10:47Whole-body Mass Spectrometry Imaging by Infrared Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Electrospray Ionization IR-MALDESI
Published on: March 24, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Hemoglobin
When all four heme groups are bound to oxygen, the resulting molecule is called oxyhemoglobin. As a result, arterial blood...
Ionization Energy
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI)
Social Traps
Lifecycle of Erythrocytes
The resident phagocytic macrophages deal with these damaged cells by engulfing them and separating their globin and heme groups....
Disorders of Erythrocytes
Erythrocyte disorders can be broadly categorized into two main types: anemic and polycythemic conditions.
A low oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood due to the loss, lower production, or destruction of erythrocytes is termed anemia. Hemorrhagic anemia, for example, occurs when bleeding from an external wound or internal ulcer reduces erythrocyte counts.
On the other...