I-Corps: Hybrid Halos for Biological Markers, Probes and Therapies

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The broad impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the introduction of a novel class of nanoparticle-molecular hybrid materials with a wide range of applications in the life sciences. These hybrid probes will enable the non-invasive delivery of ultra-violet and visible photons deep in tissue where the light could not otherwise penetrate, to mark targets for therapy or diagnostics. For example, this light may be used to trigger the uncaging of tumor drugs at local points of interest, excite fluorophores for imaging, initiate neural firing or cellular signal transduction cascades in genetically engineered species, etc. The application of our materials will enable more advanced experiments, leading to better understanding of complex systems such as the brain, which will ultimately help treat and prevent brain disorders. In addition, since these particles perform photon upconversion at very low excitation densities, much cheaper non-coherent light sources such as red LEDs can replace the high power near-infrared lasers currently required today. This is ideal for point of care testing for personalized medicine and the battlefield where instant diagnosis and portability are essential. The I-Corps project is based on a molecular-nanocrystal hybrid that upconverts light via a multi-step energy transfer process. For the life science applications mentioned above, our label exhibits much higher sensitivity than existing commercial technologies by avoiding excitation at the optical window where biological species absorb, scatter, and autofluoresce. Different components of the system can be tuned to selectively produce high energy ultra-violet and visible photons from incoming low energy near-infrared photons. Synthetic control of both the nanocrystal light absorber and molecular transmitter and emitter have resulted in a high photon upconversion quantum yield. Fundamental understanding and further development of this technology involves interdisciplinary research in the fields of photophysics, material science, and synthetic chemistry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.