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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles
Published on: January 15, 2013
Three-Dimensional Enantiomeric Recognition of Optically Trapped Single Chiral Nanoparticles
Gabriel Schnoering1, Lisa V Poulikakos2, Yoseline Rosales-Cabara1
1ISIS and icFRC, University of Strasbourg and CNRS, 8 allée Gaspard Monge, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
Abstract:
We optically trap freestanding single metallic chiral nanoparticles using a standing-wave optical tweezer. We also incorporate within the trap a polarimetric setup that allows us to perform in situ chiral recognition of single enantiomers. This is done by measuring the S_{3} component of the Stokes vector of a light beam scattered off the trapped nanoparticle in the forward direction. This unique combination of optical trapping and chiral recognition, all implemented within a single setup, opens new perspectives towards the control, recognition, and manipulation of chiral objects at nanometer scales.
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