Luminescent Switches for Fluorescence Nanoscopy

在有机和大分子化学项目的支持下，Francisco Raymo教授将探索在其分子骨架中包含荧光基团和光致变色开关的化合物的合成。荧光团被设计为在可见光区域发射辐射，激发在一个波长（ON）。光色素被设计成在另一波长激发时关闭荧光团的发射（off）。基于这种独特的行为和两束在On和OFF状态下的相互作用，该小组将能够以前所未有的分辨率对生物样品进行成像。事实上，他们计划首先表征其分子开关的光化学和光物理特性，然后评估其作为荧光成像发光探针的潜在应用。因此，他们的基础研究将有助于理解控制有机分子光化学和光物理性质的基本因素，同时为光响应化合物和材料的设计提供可行的操作原理。除了对分子开关的一般领域产生直接影响外，这些发现应该对生物医学研究产生更长远、更广泛的影响。发光开关最终可能演变成有价值的分析工具，用于纳米级分辨率的生物样品可视化。此外，该研究项目将促进主办机构化学系和神经生物系成员之间的跨学科合作，并有助于培养一名化学和生物学交叉领域的研究生和博士后。此外，它将对代表性不足的群体的成员产生重大的教育影响，因为迈阿密大学的少数民族入学率很高，尤其是西班牙裔。

With the support of this award from the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry program, Professor Francisco Raymo will explore the synthesis of compounds incorporating a fluorescent group and a photochromic switch in their molecular skeleton. The fluorophore is designed to emit radiations in the visible region upon excitation at one wavelength (ON). The photochrome is engineered to switch the emission of the fluorophore off upon excitation at another wavelength (OFF). On the basis of this unique behavior and the interplay of two exciting beams at ON and OFF, the group will be able to image biological samples with unprecedented resolution. In fact, they plan to characterize the photochemical and photophysical properties of their molecular switches first and then assess their potential application as luminescent probes for fluorescence imaging. Thus, their fundamental investigations should contribute to the understanding of the basic factors controlling the photochemical and photophysical properties of organic molecules, while providing viable operating principles for the design of photoresponsive compounds and materials. In addition to an immediate impact on the general field of molecular switches, the findings should have more long-range broader impacts in biomedical research. The luminescent switches could eventually evolve into valuable analytical tools for the visualization of biological samples with nanoscaled resolution. Furthermore, this research program will foster an interdisciplinary collaboration between members of the Departments of Chemistry and Neurobiology of the host institution and contribute to the training of a graduate student and a postdoctoral associate at the interface of chemistry and biology. Moreover, it will have a significant educational impact on members of underrepresented groups, as a result of the high minority enrollment, most notably Hispanic, of the University of Miami.