Scientists focus a laser underneath a sheet of gold nanoislands until it creates a microbubble out of vaporized water. The bubble absorbs a targeted nanoparticle and researchers can then move it around the surface as they wish. Once the laser is switched off, the bubble disappears and the nanoparticle remains.

This system may allow researchers to precisely control individual cells, bacteria, viruses and biological material for more rigorous, detailed study. It can also work with pre-programmed designs much like a 3D printer (that's how the engineers created the Longhorn symbol in the below video).

"The ability to control a single nanoparticle and fix it to a substrate without damaging it could open up great opportunities for the creation of new materials and devices," Zheng says in a press release. "The capability of arranging the particles will help to advance a class of new materials, known as metamaterials, with properties and functions that do not exist in current natural materials."