Optical-force-controlled red-blood-cell microlenses for subwavelength trapping and imaging

We demonstrate that red blood cells (RBCs), with an adjustable focusing effect controlled by optical forces, can act as bio-microlenses for trapping and imaging subwavelength objects. By varying the laser power injected into a tapered fiber probe, the shape of a swelled RBC can be changed from spherical to ellipsoidal by the optical forces, thus adjusting the focal length of such bio-microlens in a range from 3.3 to 6.5 µm. An efficient optical trapping and a simultaneous fluorescence detecting of a 500-nm polystyrene particle have been realized using the RBC microlens. Assisted by the RBC microlens, a subwavelength imaging has also been achieved, with a magnification adjustable from 1.6× to 2×. The RBC bio-microlenses may offer new opportunities for the development of fully biocompatible light-driven devices in diagnosis of blood disease.