The precise and non-invasive control over single particles is key for an array of physical and bio-medical
applications, such as microfluidics and biophysics. In particular, the three-dimensional manipulation of
single rare-earth-doped luminescent particles is of great interest due to their biocompatibility and the
sensitivity of their luminescent properties to environmental conditions, which stand out among other
dielectric luminescent particles. The analysis of the damped rotation dynamics of an optically trapped
microparticle is a novel and powerful tool that allows not only the controlled and remote manipulation of
the sensor, but also an improved characterization of the medium and fast recording of its content.
Here, an optically trapped and rotated rare-earth-doped β-NaYF 4 :RE 3+ microparticle is presented as a novel
sensor to characterize the properties of a liquid medium at the microscale (temperature, viscosity and
detection of bio-objects).
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