MIT researchers have developed a miniature, chip-based optical tweezers system, likened to a 'tractor beam' from Star Wars, that can manipulate biological particles such as cells and DNA.

This innovative technology utilizes focused light to pull microparticles towards the beam, allowing for noncontact manipulation.

The device enables manipulation of biological samples through glass containers, maintaining cleanliness and sterility during experiments.

Unlike traditional optical tweezers, which require bulky setups, this new system can trap and manipulate cells over a hundred times further from the chip, significantly enhancing its compatibility with biological experiments.

Previous optical tweezers were limited to capturing particles very close to the chip surface, leading to contamination and stress on cells.

The implications of this technology could greatly benefit biological research and clinical applications, including DNA analysis, cell classification, and the study of disease mechanics.

The MIT team claims their system improves performance by several orders of magnitude compared to earlier designs, which were bulkier and required extensive lab setups.

Initial tests have successfully captured tiny polystyrene spheres and cancer cells, marking a significant milestone in the application of single-beam optical tweezers in biological experiments.

A major challenge addressed by the MIT team was creating a tightly focused beam, achieved by using specific phase patterns for each antenna on the chip.

Future goals for the technology include enhancing beam focus, enabling multiple simultaneous trap sites, and applying it to various biological systems for more complex manipulations.

The research team, led by Tal Sneh and including several graduate students, has published their findings in Nature Communications.

This research received funding from the National Science Foundation and MIT fellowship programs.