Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42315729›Full record

ArticleNature methods2026

SmartTrap: automated precision experiments with optical tweezers.

Martin Selin, Antonio Ciarlo, Giuseppe Pesce, Lars Bengtsson, Joan Camunas-Soler, Vinoth Sundar Rajan, Fredrik Westerlund, L Marcus Wilhelmsson, Isabel Pastor, Felix Ritort and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature methods, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Martin SelinPhysics Department, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Antonio CiarloPhysics Department, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4029-7668
Giuseppe PescePhysics Department, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Lars BengtssonPhysics Department, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Joan Camunas-SolerDepartment of Medical Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Vinoth Sundar RajanDepartment of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Fredrik WesterlundDepartment of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
L Marcus WilhelmssonDepartment of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Isabel PastorSmall Biosystems Lab, Condensed Matter Physics Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Felix RitortSmall Biosystems Lab, Condensed Matter Physics Department, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Steven B SmithSteven B. Smith Engineering, Los Lunas, NM, USA.
Carlos BustamanteDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2970-0073
Giovanni VolpePhysics Department, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. giovanni.volpe@physics.gu.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5057-1846

Funding

European Commission (EC) 101001267European Commission (EC) 101212879Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse (Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation) 2019.0079
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Optical tweezers are widely used in single-molecule biophysics, cell biomechanics and soft matter physics, but require a human operator, limiting throughput and repeatability. Here we present a smart optical tweezers platform, named SmartTrap, capable of performing complex experiments autonomously by integrating real-time three-dimensional particle tracking, custom electronics and a microfluidics system. Through a series of experiments, we demonstrate it can operate continuously, acquiring high-precision data over extended periods of time. By bridging the gap between manual experimentation and autonomous operation, SmartTrap establishes a robust and open-source framework for the next generation of optical tweezers research, capable of performing large-scale studies in single-molecule biophysics, cell mechanics and colloidal science with minimal experimental overhead and operator bias.

Indexed as

Optical TweezersEquipment DesignMicrofluidics

Identifiers

PMID42315729
PMCPMC13346115

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.