biostudies-literatureUnknown27(6)Caselli NRed blood cells possess a singular mechanobiology, enabling efficient navigation through capillaries smaller than their own size. Their plasma membrane exhibits non-equilibrium shape fluctuation, often reported as enhanced flickering activity. Such active membrane motion is propelled by motor proteins that mediate interactions between the spectrin skeleton and the lipid bilayer. However, modulating the flickering in living red blood cells without permanently altering their mechanical properties represents a significant challenge. In this study, we developed holographic optical tweezers to generate a force field distributed along the equatorial membrane contour of individual red blood cells. In free-standing red blood cells, we observed heterogeneous flickering activity, attributed to localiScience109915https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11145342biostudies-literatureRed blood cell flickering activity locally controlled by holographic optical tweezers.PMC11145342Caselli NHernando-Ospina NCalero MGarcia-Verdugo MMonroy FSantiago JAHerraez-Aguilar DfalseRed blood cell flickering activity locally controlled by holographic optical tweezers.Red blood cells possess a singular mechanobiology, enabling efficient navigation through capillaries smaller than their own size. Their plasma membrane exhibits non-equilibrium shape fluctuation, often reported as enhanced flickering activity. Such active membrane motion is propelled by motor proteins that mediate interactions between the spectrin skeleton and the lipid bilayer. However, modulating the flickering in living red blood cells without permanently altering their mechanical properties represents a significant challenge. In this study, we developed holographic optical tweezers to generate a force field distributed along the equatorial membrane contour of individual red blood cells. In free-standing red blood cells, we observed heterogeneous flickering activity, attributed to local2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Jun2026-05-29T11:39:17.813Z2026-04-08T04:27:49.502ZS-EPMC111453423883200810.1016/j.isci.2024.109915