The goal of the project is an investigation of the effects of irradiation by both continuos and pulsed laser light on the cytoskeleton and membranes of protozoa and human cells in the cell cultures. Optical tweezers designed and constructed in the framew ork of the previous GA CR project (no.202/96/1077) at the Inst.of Scientific Instruments of the Academy of Sciences, can be used with advantage for manipulation with cells and for transfer of organelles within the cell. The recognition of the extent if i njury will help to establish the time limit for laser intracellular micromanipulation. The effects of short laser pulses (5 ns) in different wavelengths (1064,532, 355, 266 nm) on the ultrastructure and moving activities will be studied using the pulsed Nd:YAG laser Minilite II. It can be expected that, in intracellular manipulations by optical tweezers, at least minimal local impairment will be produced due to released heat and the fine ultrastructural interactions in the cytoskeleton and biomembranes

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