Finite-time multi-cell formation using optical traps

Many biological phenomena include the gathering of multiple cells in a particular location. Analysis of such phenomena by artificially creating them in a controlled environment may help us to gain a better understanding of such biological processes. Existing control methods for optical tweezers can only ensure convergence at steady state and thus the performance of the system in terms of finite-time convergence cannot be achieved. In this paper, we present a control methodology to achieve manipulation of multiple cells to a desired region in finite time. The proposed method is also useful for investigation of cells interactions and cells fusion as the size of the desired region can be adjusted so that the cells are in close contacts with each other. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method in achieving finite-time multi-cell region formation.