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Optical Trapping of Nanoparticles
Published on: January 15, 2013
Optical trapping of nanoclusters formed in a temperature-responsive ionic liquid aqueous solution under focused
Maho Tanaka1, Rai Kobayashi1, Yasuyuki Tsuboi1
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Metropolitan University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka-shi, 558-8585, Japan. k-yuyama@omu.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Confining molecules and ions at a specific position in a solution enables the control of chemical reactions and analysis of tiny amounts of substances. Here, we demonstrate local condensation of a temperature responsive ionic liquid using optical tweezers. Two kinds of microdroplets are prepared through phase separation or nanocluster formation under irradiation of a near-infrared laser beam. The droplet formation mechanism is discussed in view of the evolution of an optical potential well and the local temperature distribution.

