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Quantum Microscope May Be Able to See Inside Living Cells
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/02/quantum-microscope-squeezed-light/
Quantum Microscope May Be Able to See Inside Living Cells
BY ADAM MANN02.19.149:30 AM
By combining quantum mechanical quirks of light with a technique called photonic force microscopy, scientists can now probe detailed structures inside living cells like never before. This ability could bring into focus previously invisible processes and help biologists better understand how cells work.
<snip>
Scientists have come up with clever ways to get around the diffraction limit and resolve things as small as 20 nanometers. But the new quantum technique has pushed that limit even farther. Instead of using light, Bowen’s team passed a nano-particle over the surface of cellular structures, sort of like running your finger over a bumpy surface. They held onto their fat granule probe using optical tweezers, which are basically a nanoscale version of a tractor beam. In an optical tweezer, scientists create a laser beam with an electromagnetic field along its length. The field is strongest at the center of the beam, allowing tiny objects to be drawn to this point and held there.
Because the fat granules occur naturally, the cells don’t need to be prepared like they would for atomic force microscopy, which generally involves killing the cells. That’s a big deal because it means photonic force microscopy can be used to visualize processes inside living cells. The team has tracked these granules with a resolution of about 10 nanometers.
To get to this resolution, the researchers needed to see exactly where the fat globules were. For this they needed the quantum mechanical squeezed light because it provided greater clarity than would be possible with fuzzy classical light. ...
<snip>
Quantum Microscope May Be Able to See Inside Living Cells
BY ADAM MANN02.19.149:30 AM
By combining quantum mechanical quirks of light with a technique called photonic force microscopy, scientists can now probe detailed structures inside living cells like never before. This ability could bring into focus previously invisible processes and help biologists better understand how cells work.
<snip>
Scientists have come up with clever ways to get around the diffraction limit and resolve things as small as 20 nanometers. But the new quantum technique has pushed that limit even farther. Instead of using light, Bowen’s team passed a nano-particle over the surface of cellular structures, sort of like running your finger over a bumpy surface. They held onto their fat granule probe using optical tweezers, which are basically a nanoscale version of a tractor beam. In an optical tweezer, scientists create a laser beam with an electromagnetic field along its length. The field is strongest at the center of the beam, allowing tiny objects to be drawn to this point and held there.
Because the fat granules occur naturally, the cells don’t need to be prepared like they would for atomic force microscopy, which generally involves killing the cells. That’s a big deal because it means photonic force microscopy can be used to visualize processes inside living cells. The team has tracked these granules with a resolution of about 10 nanometers.
To get to this resolution, the researchers needed to see exactly where the fat globules were. For this they needed the quantum mechanical squeezed light because it provided greater clarity than would be possible with fuzzy classical light. ...
<snip>
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