The interactions between T cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) are crucial in triggering a successful antigenspecific,
adaptive immune response leading to protection against a particular pathogen or disease. At present very little is
known about the magnitudes of the forces involved in these interactions. We present results showing for the first time
that optical tweezers can be used to measure these cell-cell interaction forces. We were able to see a significant
difference in the force distributions taken with and without antigen, as evidenced by a Mann-Whitney U-test. The T cells
of interest were trapped directly and no exogenous beads were added to the sample. Interaction forces between T cells
and APCs in the presence of specific antigen ranged from 0-6.5 pN, whereas, when the specific antigen was absent the
interaction forces ranged from 0-1.5 pN. The accuracy of the system will be discussed in terms of how we tracked the
position of the optically trapped cell and the methods we used to minimise cell roll.
Functionalised nanoparticles have been used in a number of studies including detection of DNA at ultra low
concentrations, immuno-histochemistry and more recently as substrates for surface enhanced resonance Raman
scattering (SERRS) based imaging approaches. The advantages of using metallic nanoparticles are that they are
very bright in terms of their optical characteristics and also can be functionalised to provide a SERRS response and
hence provide a unique Raman fingerprint. Here we present the functionalisation of gold and silver nanoparticles in
such a way that the enhancement effect can be greatly increased through biological interaction and as such
effectively turn on the SERRS effect. In an advancement of this nanoparticles have been used as imaging agents for
single cells when functionalised with an appropriate antibody and can give information on the expression of specific
receptors on cell surfaces as well as sub-cellular compartmentalisation information.
Conference Committee Involvement (6)
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
23 April 2018 | Strasbourg, France
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
4 April 2016 | Brussels, Belgium
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
14 April 2014 | Brussels, Belgium
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
16 April 2012 | Brussels, Belgium
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
12 April 2010 | Brussels, Belgium
Biophotonics: Photonic Solutions for Better Health Care
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