All-optical human cell fusion by a fiber femtosecond laser

Cell-cell fusion by physical methods has progressed slowly until the advent of femtosecond lasers in the near infrared range, which have an ultrahigh photon density and few side effects. Here we demonstrated using a fiber femtosecond laser at 1550 nm with an average power of 1.6x10(4) W per pulse to fuse human HepG2 and HeLa cells homotypically with an efficiency of 35%-37% in the absence of chemical fusogen. Heterohybrid HepG2-HeLa cells were also prepared. Our site-directed cell-cell fusion technique offers a precise tool for biotechnology and fundamental research in biomedical fields. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2998266]