@Article{mcb.2005.002.017,
AUTHOR = {Nan  Shen, Dabajyoti  Datta, Chris B.  Schaffer, Eric  Mazur},
TITLE = {Ablation of cytoskeletal filaments and mitochondria in live cells using a femtosecond laser nanoscissor},
JOURNAL = {Molecular \& Cellular Biomechanics},
VOLUME = {2},
YEAR = {2005},
NUMBER = {1},
PAGES = {17--26},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/mcb/v2n1/33601},
ISSN = {1556-5300},
ABSTRACT = {Analysis of cell regulation requires methods for perturbing molecular processes within living cells with spatial discrimination on the nanometer-scale. We present a technique for ablating molecular structures in living cells using low-repetition rate, low-energy femtosecond laser pulses. By tightly focusing these pulses beneath the cell membrane, we ablate cellular material inside the cell through nonlinear processes. We selectively removed sub-micrometer regions of the cytoskeleton and individual mitochondria without altering neighboring structures or compromising cell viability. This nanoscissor technique enables non-invasive manipulation of the structural machinery of living cells with several-hundred-nanometer resolution. Using this approach, we unequivocally demonstrate that mitochondria are structurally independent functional units, and do not form a continuous network as suggested by some past studies.},
DOI = {10.3970/mcb.2005.002.017}
}