Quantitative Force Measurements with Optical Tweezers: The JPK NanoTracker

^{KEYWORDS: Optical Tweezers; NanoTracker; Force Measurements; High Spatial Resolution; Optical trap; sinlge molecules; Living Cells; Nanomanipulation; Life Science}

Optical tweezers methodology has developed from proof-of-principle experiments to an established quantitative technique in fields ranging from biophysics to cell biology. With the JPK NanoTracker, Bruker’s new experimental life science platform, compact and off-the-shelf quantitative optical tweezers have become available.

The measurements in this technical note show that the platform lives up to the benchmark standards of the strongly developed single-molecule biophysics field. At the same time, the instrument is versatile and user-friendly enough to allow easy operation by those researchers not used to working with lasers and optics. As such, the NanoTracker is an excellent platform to cover a broad range of quantitative nanomanipulation needs.

Readers can expect to learn about:

• The principles of Optical Tweezers (OT) technology and the versatile design of the NanoTracker OT platform;
• Benchmark experiments showcasing the outstanding performance and easy operation of the NanoTracker; and
• The benefits and outlook of this technique for applications ranging from single-molecule experiments to in-vivo investigations of cells