Collaborative Research: Single-Molecule Electrofluorochromic Sensing

在化学系化学测量和成像计划的支持和刺激竞争性研究计划的部分共同资助下，堪萨斯州立大学的伊藤隆志教授和他的团队旨在与印第安纳大学布鲁明顿分校的Amar Flood教授和他的团队合作，创造为医学诊断和基础生化研究开发新的测量工具所需的基础知识。该合作项目旨在开发用于高灵敏检测氧化还原过程的新型荧光分子，研究用于量化电极反应动力学的单分子测量技术，并建立一种高灵敏和精确的生物传感方法。在单分子水平上深入了解电极反应过程，有可能为改善电化学生物传感器和光电子器件的性能提供有价值的信息。在这些研究过程中，研究主题将通过符合美国化学学会对理科学士学位的认证要求的新实验室实验纳入教育活动。为了扩大对STEM(科学、技术、工程和数学)学科的参与，我们举办了一个多学科研究研讨会，主要针对本科院校的学生和教授。这个合作项目寻求开发高度灵敏和精确的多路生物传感器所需的基本见解。具体地说，该团队试图设计和合成在氧化/还原时表现出可逆开关的小荧光分子(可电开关的荧光团)，并适合共价连接。在样品应用中，电势调制将被用来定量DNA探针上的单个电可切换荧光团的电极反应动力学，目的是为了更好地理解单分子电极反应动力学与基于折叠的DNA传感器性能之间的关系。最终目标是无定标的单分子DNA传感，如果成功，将构成一项重大成就，并具有远远超出这些研究的广泛科学影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry and partial co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Professor Takashi Ito and his group at Kansas State University aims to create fundamental knowledge required to develop new measurement tools for medical diagnostics and fundamental biochemical studies, in collaboration with Professor Amar Flood and his group at Indiana University, Bloomington. This collaborative project aims to develop novel fluorescent molecules for highly sensitive detection of oxidation-reduction processes, to examine single molecule measurement techniques for quantification of electrode reaction kinetics, and to establish a highly sensitive and precise biosensing method. In depth understanding of electrode reaction processes at the single molecule level has the potential to provide valuable information to facilitate improving the performance of electrochemical biosensors and opto-electronic devices. In the course of these studies, research topics will be integrated into educational activities via new lab experiments that meet American Chemical Society accreditation requirements for BS degrees. Efforts to broaden participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines include a multidisciplinary research symposium targeting students and professors at primarily undergraduate institutions.This collaborative project seeks fundamental insights needed to develop highly sensitive and precise multiplexed biosensors. Specifically, the team seeks to design and synthesize small fluorescent molecules that exhibit reversible ON-OFF switching upon oxidation/reduction (electroswitchable fluorophores) and are suitable for covalent conjugation. In sample applications, potential modulation will be used for fluorescence quantification of the electrode reaction kinetics of single electroswitchable fluorophores tethered to DNA probes, with an aim of improved understanding of the relationship between the single-molecule electrode reaction kinetics and the performance of folding-based DNA sensors. An ultimate aim is calibration-free single-molecule DNA sensing which, if successful, would constitute a significant achievement and have broad scientific impact well beyond these studies.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.