Noncontact microsurgery and micromanipulation of living cells with combined system femtosecond laser scalpel-optical tweezers

We report on the results of using self-developed combined laser system consisting of a femtosecond laser scalpel (Cr:Forsterite seed oscillator and a regenerative amplifier, 620 nm, 100 fs, 10 Hz) and optical tweezers (cw laser, 1064 nm) for performing noncontact laser-mediated polar body (PB) and trophectoderm (TE) biopsy of early mammalian embryos. To perform PB biopsy the femtosecond laser scalpel was initially used to drill an opening in the zona pellucida, and then the PB was extracted out of the zygote with the optical tweezers. Unlike PB biopsy, TE biopsy allows diagnosing maternally-derived as well as paternally-derived defects. Moreover, as multiple TE cells can be taken from the embryo, more reliable diagnosis can be done. TE biopsy was performed by applying laser pulses to dissect the desired amount of TE cells that had just left the zona pellucida during the hatching. Optical tweezers were then used to trap and move the dissected TE cells in a prescribed way. Laser power in optical tweezers and energy of femtosecond laser pulses were thoroughly optimized to prevent cell damage and obtain high viability rates. In conclusion, the proposed techniques of laser-based embryo biopsy enable accurate, contamination-free, simple and quick microprocessing of living cells.