Laser nano dissection is a powerful technique to access cellular properties down to a sub-micrometer scale. Laser nano dissection can be applied both in vitro and in vivo.

Laser nano dissection takes advantage of the very precise nature of femtosecond ablation to achieve unprecedented resolution. In a recent project carried out at Institut Fresnel, researchers have developed a nanosurgery system by using an infrared ultrafast laser oscillator. The laser was used to cut acto-myosin stress fibers within the cell membrane in a living Drosophila embryo, in order to study the mechanisms of a morphogenesis during the embryo development.

Ref.: "A two-tiered mechanismfor stabilization and immobilizationof E-cadherin", Nature, vol 453, June 2008

photo-disruption of the actin network within the cell membrane with an infared ultrafast laser, courtesy Institut Fresnel and IBDM