Presentations

    Femtosecond laser dissection of neurons in C. elegans, at NATO ASI Course on New developments in optics and related fields: modern techniques, materials, and applications, Centro Ettore Majorana (Erice, Italy), Tuesday, June 14, 2005:
    Tightly-focused femtosecond laser pulses of a few nanojoules sever individual dendrites in the nematode worm C. elegans. Quantification of the resulting behavioral deficits identifies the contribution of the dissected structures. Due to nonlinear absorption of laser light, the dissection has submicrometer resolution with no collateral damage, permitting subcellular surgery on live animals. Future work include an examination of the molecular basis of neurodegeneration that has application to diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
    Single neuron dissection in C. elegans by femtosecond laser pulses, at Photonics West 2006 (San Jose, CA), Saturday, January 21, 2006:
    Using tightly-focused, 2-5 nJ femtosecond laser pulses we disrupt cellular material in the nematode worm C. elegans. Due to the nonlinear absorption of laser light, the dissection has submicrometer resolution, yielding surgery within the bulk of the worm without incision. The low energy of the pulses minimizes collateral damage. This technique permits subcellular surgery on live animals and opens a wide range of neurobiological questions to study in vivo.

    We severed individual dendrites of a thermosensory neuron without damaging nearby neurons. Quantification of the resulting behavioral...

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    Applications of femtosecond laser ablation for nanoneurosurgery in C. elegans., at Photonics West 2007 (San Jose, CA), Saturday, January 20, 2007:
    We ablate cellular material with submicrometer resolution using tightly-focused, 2-5 nJ femtosecond laser pulses. Due to the nonlinear absorption of laser light, the disruption occurs within the bulk of the sample without incision. The low energy of the pulses minimizes collateral damage. The technique has broad applicability because any optically resolvable structure within the working distance of a high-NA objective can be disrupted. Current applications of this technique include probing cytoskeletal mechanics, imaging brain tissue, and investigating the neurobiology of the nematode worm C... Read more about Applications of femtosecond laser ablation for nanoneurosurgery in C. elegans.