A study conducted by CIC biomaGUNE has managed to efficiently harvest laboratory-grown cells, using infrared light in combination with plasmonic nanoparticles, for application in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This research is based on the use of infrared light and plasmonic nanoparticles specifically fabricated on substrates for application. The infrared light interacts with the nanoparticles to generate sufficient energy to detach the cells from the substrates on which they have been grown. The soft infrared light is of sufficiently low energy to enable cell detachment without damage and a nigh-on 100% cell survival rate during the cell retrieval process, representing a previously unknown level of viability.