UNLABELLED: The interaction between cell surface receptors and extracellular ligands is highly related to many physiological processes in living systems. Many techniques have been developed to measure the ligand-receptor binding kinetics at the single-cell level. However, few techniques can measure the physiologically relevant shear binding affinity over a single cell in the clinical environment. Here, we develop a new optical technique, termed single-cell rotational adhesion frequency assay (scRAFA), that mimics in vivo cell adhesion to achieve label-free determination of both homogeneous and heterogeneous binding kinetics of targeted cells at the subcellular level. Moreover, the scRAFA is also applicable to analyze the binding affinities on a single cell in native human biofluids. With its superior performance and general applicability, scRAFA is expected to find applications in study of the spatial organization of cell surface receptors and diagnosis of infectious diseases. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43593-022-00020-4.

Rotation of micro/nano-objects is important for micro/nanorobotics, three-dimensional imaging, and lab-on-a-chip systems. Optical rotation techniques are especially attractive because of their fuel-free and remote operation. However, current techniques require laser beams with designed intensity profile and polarization or objects with sophisticated shapes or optical birefringence. These requirements make it challenging to use simple optical setups for light-driven rotation of many highly symmetric or isotropic objects, including biological cells. Here, we report a universal approach to the out-of-plane rotation of various objects, including spherically symmetric and isotropic particles, using an arbitrary low-power laser beam. Moreover, the laser beam is positioned away from the objects to reduce optical damage from direct illumination. The rotation mechanism based on opto-thermoelectrical coupling is elucidated by rigorous experiments combined with multiscale simulations. With its general applicability and excellent biocompatibility, our universal light-driven rotation platform is instrumental for various scientific research and engineering applications.

Optical tweezers have profound importance across fields ranging from manufacturing to biotechnology. However, the requirement of refractive index contrast and high laser power results in potential photon and thermal damage to the trapped objects, such as nanoparticles and biological cells. Optothermal tweezers have been developed to trap particles and biological cells via opto-thermophoresis with much lower laser powers. However, the intense laser heating and stringent requirement of the solution environment prevent their use for general biological applications. Here, we propose hypothermal opto-thermophoretic tweezers (HOTTs) to achieve low-power trapping of diverse colloids and biological cells in their native fluids. HOTTs exploit an environmental cooling strategy to simultaneously enhance the thermophoretic trapping force at sub-ambient temperatures and suppress the thermal damage to target objects. We further apply HOTTs to demonstrate the three-dimensional manipulation of functional plasmonic vesicles for controlled cargo delivery. With their noninvasiveness and versatile capabilities, HOTTs present a promising tool for fundamental studies and practical applications in materials science and biotechnology.

Constructing colloidal particles into functional nanostructures, materials, and devices is a promising yet challenging direction. Many optical techniques have been developed to trap, manipulate, assemble, and print colloidal particles from aqueous solutions into desired configurations on solid substrates. However, these techniques operated in liquid environments generally suffer from pattern collapses, Brownian motion, and challenges that come with reconfigurable assembly. Here, we develop an all-optical technique, termed optothermally-gated photon nudging (OPN), for the versatile manipulation and dynamic patterning of a variety of colloidal particles on a solid substrate at nanoscale accuracy. OPN takes advantage of a thin surfactant layer to optothermally modulate the particle-substrate interaction, which enables the manipulation of colloidal particles on solid substrates with optical scattering force. Along with in situ optical spectroscopy, our non-invasive and contactless nanomanipulation technique will find various applications in nanofabrication, nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, and colloidal sciences.

Rational manipulation and assembly of discrete colloidal particles into architected superstructures have enabled several applications in materials science and nanotechnology. Optical manipulation techniques, typically operated in fluid media, facilitate the precise arrangement of colloidal particles into superstructures by using focused laser beams. However, as the optical energy is turned off, the inherent Brownian motion of the particles in fluid media impedes the retention and reconfiguration of such superstructures. Overcoming this fundamental limitation, we present on-demand, three-dimensional (3D) optical manipulation of colloidal particles in a phase-change solid medium made of surfactant bilayers. Unlike liquid crystal media, the lack of fluid flow within the bilayer media enables the assembly and retention of colloids for diverse spatial configurations. By utilizing the optically controlled temperature-dependent interactions between the particles and their surrounding media, we experimentally exhibit the holonomic microscale control of diverse particles for repeatable, reconfigurable, and controlled colloidal arrangements in 3D. Finally, we demonstrate tunable light-matter interactions between the particles and 2D materials by successfully manipulating and retaining these particles at fixed distances from the 2D material layers. Our experimental results demonstrate that the particles can be retained for over 120 days without any change in their relative positions or degradation in the bilayers. With the capability of arranging particles in 3D configurations with long-term stability, our platform pushes the frontiers of optical manipulation for distinct applications such as metamaterial fabrication, information storage, and security.