Invited Talk by A. Ciarlo at Italy-Sweden bilateral workshop on smart sensor technologies and applications, 1 October 2024

Representation of DNA stretching experiment with the miniTweezer. (Image by A. Ciarlo)
miniTweezers2.0: smart optical tweezers for health and life sciences
Antonio Ciarlo
Italy-Sweden bilateral workshop on smart sensor technologies and applications
Date: 1 October 2024
Time: 14:40-15:05
Place: Meeting Room Kronan, Studenthuset, Linköping University, Campus Valla

Optical tweezers have become indispensable tools in various scientific fields such as biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science. Their wide range of applications has attracted the interest of scientists with limited expertise in optics and physics. Therefore, it is crucial to have a system that is accessible to non-experts. In this study, we present miniTweezers2.0, a highly versatile and user-friendly instrument enhanced by artificial intelligence. We demonstrate the capabilities of the system through three autonomous case study experiments. The first is DNA stretching, a fundamental experiment in single-molecule force spectroscopy. The second experiment focuses on stretching red blood cells, providing insight into their membrane stiffness. The final experiment examines the electrostatic interactions between microparticles in different environments. Our results highlight the potential of automated, versatile optical tweezers to advance our understanding of nanoscale and microscale systems by enabling high-throughput, unbiased measurements. The miniTweezers2.0 system successfully demonstrates the integration of artificial intelligence and automation to make optical tweezers more accessible and versatile, especially for health and life sciences. The adaptability of miniTweezers2.0 underscores its potential as a powerful tool for future scientific exploration across multiple disciplines.

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