Optical manipulation of microparticles and cells on silicon nitride waveguides

We demonstrate the optical manipulation of cells and dielectric particles on the surface of silicon nitride waveguides. Glass particles with 2 mu m diameter are propelled at velocities of 15 mu m/s with a guided power of 20mW. This is approximately 20 times more efficient than previously reported, and permits to use this device on low refractive index objects such as cells. Red blood cells and yeast cells can be trapped on the waveguide and pushed along it by the action of optical forces. This kind of system can easily be combined with various integrated optical structures and opens the way to the development of new microsystems for cell sorting applications. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America.