Figure 3.
Schematic illustration of the procedure for using optical tweezers to detach E. coli from SAMs presenting α-C-mannoside ligands. Bacteria were allowed to settle by gravity onto SAMs with χMan = 10−1, 10−3, or 10−6 and left for 30 minutes to adhere without control over their orientation. The substrates were inverted, and the focal region of the optical tweezers was brought to the edge of a bacterium. The bacterium was detached from the SAM and allowed to reattach end-on. The focal region of the optical trap again was placed at the edge of the bacterium, and the tweezers were used immediately to detach microorganisms from this end-on orientation. The location of the focal region of the optical trap is indicated by an asterisk.