SPP 1601: New Frontiers in Sensitivity for EPR Spectroscopy: from Biological Cells to Nano Materials

电子顺磁共振(EPR)是一种光谱技术，它可以在短至纳秒的时间尺度上探测顺磁中心和与之耦合的磁核，并具有从原子到纳米尺度的空间分辨率。这项技术的最新进展主要是由生物和材料科学研究领域的特定需求推动的。优先方案旨在使这些研究领域协调一致，以提高电子顺磁共振作为生物、化学、材料科学和物理的基本光谱技术的灵敏度。作为主要目标，EPR将开辟新的应用领域，如百万级分子机器的研究，细胞蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用或酶机制的研究，单晶表面的催化过程，或薄膜太阳能电池的光诱导降解。所研究系统的内在多样性意味着，设想的灵敏度增强不仅依赖于EPR硬件方面的进步，还包括替代的偏振和检测方案以及对该方法的适应“真实世界”样品。优先方案包括侧重于四个主要研究领域的合作项目。前两种理解提高EPR实验灵敏度的方法：(1)改进电子自旋磁化激发和操作的方法；(2)改进EPR检测的方法。第三和第四个领域探索这些方法在生物和材料科学领域的适用性，这些领域在目前的最先进水平下不适用于EPR光谱学。方法论工作与面向应用的研究之间的协同作用将逐步建立。在第一阶段(头三年)，侧重于应用的小组应调整和扩大现有的方法，以提高灵敏度(如使用微谐振器、太赫兹光谱分析、电或光激发或检测)，以适应其特定目的。在EPR方法方面有专长的小组将专注于新实验的设计。在优先方案的第二阶段(长期目标)，将在联合体之间的协作努力中检验有条不紊工作的成果，并针对具体应用进行优化。

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a spectroscopic technique that allows detection of paramagnetic centres and magnetic nuclei coupled to them on a time scale as short as nanoseconds and with spatial resolution from the atomic up to the nanometer scale. Recent progress in this technique has been mainly driven by specific needs in the research areas of biological and materials science. The Priority Programme aims at bringing these research areas together in a coordinated effort in order to increase the sensitivity of EPR as an essential spectroscopic technique for biology, chemistry, materials science, and physics. As a major goal, new application fields shall be opened up by EPR such as the investigation of megadalton molecular machines, in cell protein-protein interactions or enzymatic mechanisms, catalytic processes on single-crystalline surfaces, or the light-induced degradation of thin-film solar cells. The intrinsic diversity of the studied systems implies that the envisaged sensitivity enhancement does not only rely on advances on the side of EPR hardware but also involves alternative polarisation and detection schemes and the adaptation of the method to "real world" samples. The Priority Programme encompasses collaborative projects that focus on four major research areas. The first two comprehend methods to increase the sensitivity of EPR experiments: (1) methods for improved excitation and manipulation of electron spin magnetisation and (2) methods for improved EPR detection. The third and fourth areas explore the applicability of these methods in fields of biological and materials sciences, which are not amenable to EPR spectroscopy at the current state-of-the-art. The synergy between the methodological work, on the one side, and application-oriented research, on the other side, will be progressively established. In the first phase (first three years) the groups with focus on applications shall adapt and expand presently available methods for increased sensitivity (such as the use of micro-resonators, THz spectroscopy, electrical or optical excitation, or detection) to their specific purposes. Groups with expertise in EPR methodologies will focus on the design of new experiments. In the second phase of the Priority Programme (long-term goal) the outcome from the methodical work will be tested in a collaborative effort among the consortium and optimised for specific applications.