Overview

The microparticles we deal with in this book can be distinguished into two categories: In the first category are the particles of biological interest that are naturally present in the biological systems and on which it is necessary to obtain some information. The second category deals with artificial particles that are manufactured by chemical synthesis or by genetic modification, as tools to perform a function in the process (observation, characterization, or manipulation). Dealing with micro- and nanoparticles means that the objects are not only smaller, they have intrinsic properties witnessing these length scales (mechanical, optical, and so forth) that are emphasized here.

In this chapter, which is more oriented toward experimental situations, we first present the biological objects limiting ourselves to major biopolymers and to some aspects of cells. Then, we introduce a few basic physical notions and definitions, and we review some synthetic particles and their use. The next part is devoted to techniques used to characterize these objects, and we end with a few words on micromanipulation techniques. This chapter should be read as an introduction to these experimental techniques. It can give an idea of what is possible along the main lines described in the present book but is in no way an exhaustive picture. The interested reader is encouraged to go into the matter more closely with the classical books or review papers listed in the references at the end of the chapter or throughout the text. Furthermore, the electric field based techniques are described...