Need for 2 photon measurements to demonstrate advanced capability of LightOx probes and inform new probe development

LightOx是一家位于英格兰东北部的药物开发公司，该公司已将其光激活产品提供给其他研究人员，以开发和了解细胞中发生的生物过程。这些“LightOx探针”向生物研究人员展示了特定细胞功能的重要性以及细胞生存和生长的机制。LightOx已经证明，当它们被短波长的光（紫光或蓝光）激活时，它们能够发出荧光，使研究人员能够看到探针位于细胞内的位置。短波长的光可以有效地激活这种荧光，但这种光只能穿透很短的距离，并可能对细胞造成损害。我们的一些客户已经证明，LightOx探针也可以通过一种称为双光子吸收的新技术被更长波长的光激活。这种方法的主要优点是，（红光）更好地穿透材料，并且对细胞无毒;因此，双光子吸收将使研究人员能够在具有挑战性的生物样品（如癌性肿瘤）中观察LightOx探针。LightOx已与世界领先的技术设施之一，位于牛津迪科的中央激光设施（CLF）合作，在这个A4 I项目上，进一步了解LightOx探针的双光子吸收特性。CLF配备了最先进的激光仪器来分析分子的双光子吸收特性，LightOx和CLF的科学家将共同努力对LightOx探针进行精确测量，这将使我们能够构建一个理想分子的图像，提供最佳的双光子吸收。通过双光子吸收更有效地激活的分子将使研究人员更容易使用这种技术研究细胞/组织。LightOx已经通过全球经销商销售他们的LightOx探针，并注意到市场上很少有探针能够双光子吸收。因此，LightOx认为开发具有强双光子吸收的LightOx探针可以填补研究工具市场的空白。然而，LightOx是一家小公司（15名员工），不具备测量双光子吸收的设备/专业知识。因此，我们与CLF合作开展了这个雄心勃勃的项目，旨在为LightOx建立一个新的产品线，使世界各地的研究人员能够在癌症，细胞生物学和治疗学等领域取得新的发现。

LightOx are a drug development company based in the North East of England that has made its light-activated products available to other researchers to develop and understand the biological processes that occur in a cell. These "LightOx Probes" act to show biological researchers the importance of specific cell functions and the mechanisms that cells use to survive and grow. LightOx has shown that their Probes are capable of emitting fluorescence when they are activated by short wavelengths of light (violet or blue light), allowing researchers to see where a Probe is situated inside a cell. Short wavelengths of light efficiently activate this fluorescence, but this light only penetrates to short distances and can be damaging to cells. Some of our customers have shown that LightOx Probes can also be activated by much longer wavelength light by a novel technique known as two-photon absorption. This approach has major advantages as longer wavelengths of light (red light) penetrate materials much better and are also non-toxic to cells; thus, two-photon absorption would allow researchers to look at LightOx probes in challenging biological samples such as cancerous tumours.LightOx have partnered with one of the world's leading technology facilities, the Central Laser Facility (CLF) in Didcot, Oxford, on this A4I project to further understand the two-photon absorption properties of LightOx Probes. The CLF is equipped with state-of-the-art laser instrumentation to analyse the two-photon absorption properties of molecules and, together, LightOx and scientists at the CLF will work to undertake precise measurements of LightOx Probes that will enable us to build a picture of the ideal molecule that will provide the best two-photon absorption. Molecules that are more efficiently activated by two-photon absorption will make it easier for researchers to study cells/tissues using this technique.LightOx already sell their LightOx Probes through a global distributor and have noticed that there are very few probes on the market that are capable of two-photon absorption. Hence, LightOx sees that developing LightOx Probes with strong two-photon absorption could fill a gap in the research tools market. However, LightOx are a small company (15 employees) and do not have the equipment/expertise to measure two-photon absorption. Hence, we have partnered with the CLF to undertake this ambitious project that aims to establish a new product line for LightOx that promises to enable researchers across the world to make new discoveries in fields such as cancer, cell biology and therapeutics.