Multi-modal optical microscope with a magnetic manipulator for mechanical and flow characteristic analysis of flat soft thin films

Abstract

It is important to measure both the flow and mechanical properties like viscoelasticity simultaneously in the soft thin films study like cell membrane. Thus, the need for the multi-modal measuring system was raised to analyze the results effectively in the experiment using flat soft thin films like model layer. In this dissertation, the multi-modal optical microscope with a magnetic manipulator for mechanical and flow characteristic analy-sis of flat soft thin films was proposed. The multi-color confocal fluorescence and reflection microscope was applied for the flow analysis near flat soft thin films. The magnetic manipulator was combined with the wide-field microscopy for analyzing mechanical properties. After it was designed and developed, tests of soft thin films were conducted to verify performances. The optical components were designed and aligned to match up actual values with the maximized performances in the diffraction limit of the multi-color confocal fluorescence and reflection microscope. The developed system had 1.5 times larger magnetic field than the previous research at the center. The stable lipid bilayer was made using hexadecane solution of DOPC and Span 80 for observing the flow. The movements of dye molecules induced by oleic acid in the droplet and the back flow were measured near water/water interface after the zipping. The viscoelasticity of albumin soft thin films was measured and it was analyzed compared to the previous research. Through a comparative analysis, the aging albumin soft thin films as time goes on showed the similar pattern in comparison with the results of the previous research. It was verified by the experiments that the developed system could measure optical information and the viscoelasticity. In conclusion, multi-modal optical microscope with a magnetic manipulator can analyze the flow and mechanical properties of flat soft thin films.