Subcellular Surgery and Nanoneurosurgery Using Femtosecond Laser Pulses

Determining the Range of Noninvasive Near-Infrared Femtosecond Laser Pulses for Mammalian Oocyte Nanosurgery

“…The near-infrared range is in the region of biotissue transparency: it is not absorbed either by the water or organic substances of the cell (proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, carbohydrates) [1]. A high localization of the femtosecond pulse action in the area of laser beam waist (about 10 femtoliters volume) allows one to perform operations inside the cell/embryo on a separate organelle leaving intact the cell environment and causing no damage to the outer membrane [1][2][3]. Non-linear optical absorption of laser pulse energy by the cell material is achieved at relatively low energies of femtosecond pulse, as a high light power density necessary for non-linear optical interactions is provided by a short pulse duration and tight focusing by the microscope objective lens.…”

“…the area of maximal laser radiation intensity. Absence of the marked dependence of the probability of bubble generation on the pulse train duration at constant pulse energy indicates that under the action of the pulse sequence, accumulation of color centers capable of absorbing radiation at 780 nm wavelength is negligible in the experiments conducted [1][2][3][4]. Based on the data of Table 1, a threshold of bubble generation (the probability of the event approximates to 50%) in the cytoplasm is lower than in the nucleus.…”

“…780 nm wavelength used in this work is in the region of biotissue transparency, the linear absorption of light by an oocyte in this range is negligible [1][2][3][4]. Absorption of femtosecond pulse energy resulting in cavitation bubble generation is caused by nonlinear optical effects.…”

“…Low-energy pulses prevent significant thermal stress. Thus, a focused femtosecond laser can be used as a unique scalpel, which allows the operations to be performed with submicron accuracy inside the cell/embryo without any damage to the object outer membranes [1][2][3][4].…”

Pulsetrain-burst mode, ultrafast-laser interactions with 3D viable cell cultures as a model for soft biological tissues

“…Ever since they were first introduced for corneal flap creation [1,2] in Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK), ultrafast lasers have become a standard resource in corneal refractive surgery [3] and an emerging tool for use in cataract surgery [4]. Extensive research aims to incorporate ultrafast lasers in various surgical procedures such as microsurgery of vocal folds [5], craniofacial osteotomy [6], stapedotomy [7], cardiology [8,9], dentistry [10,11], and sub-cellular nanosurgery [12,13]. Continued increases in average powers for ultrafast fiber lasers [14] should eventually offer an even more compact and cost-effective alternative to solid-state ultrafast-laser systems.…”