Nanoscale Temperature Mapping and Thermal Regulation of Intracellular Dynamics

项目摘要 温度对所有生命活动都是至关重要的，并调节着 不同的层次。细胞不仅通过其独特的 温度敏感的分子机械，但也适应适当的反应 以维持其固有的功能。尽管温度在根本上牵涉到 在生物过程中，细胞产生和使用热的分子机制。 在很大程度上是未知的。我们的目标是开发原子精确的纳米体系结构，同时 刺激器和温度计，用于研究各种温度敏感分子 亚细胞水平。这项研究将调查时空温度变化， 包括细胞器特有的产热作用，以发展两者之间的内在联系 温度和电池功能。这项拟议的研究将把纳米建筑与 我们最近展示的超快光学光谱、结构表征和 原子到显微镜的多尺度建模框架，用于设计、测量和 分析分子水平的热-生物相互作用。新的方法将 在微观水平上量化大差异的细胞内温度变化 与宏观层面上对水环境的假设不同。我们期待着 新纳米体系结构的应用将揭示新的机制和基础 对细胞内温度辅助功能的理解。

Project Summary Temperature is critical to all life activities and regulates biological processes at various levels. Cells not only detect temperature changes through their unique temperature-sensitive molecular machineries but also adapt with appropriate responses to maintain their inherent functions. Despite the fundamental involvement of temperature in biological processes, the molecular mechanism by which cells produce and use heat is largely unknown. Our aim to develop atomically precise nanoarchitectures as both stimulators and thermometers to study various temperature-sensitive molecules down to the sub-cellular level. The study will investigate spatio-temporal temperature variations, including organelle-specific thermogenesis to develop the intrinsic connections between temperature and cell functions. The proposed study will combine nanoarchitectures with our recent demonstrated ultrafast optical spectroscopy, structural characterizations, and atomistic-to-microscope multiscale modeling framework to design, measure, and analyze the molecular-level thermal-biological interactions. The new approach will quantify intracellular temperature changes at the microscopic level in large difference from those assumed at a water environment at the macroscopic level. We expect the employment of new nano-architecture will uncover novel mechanisms and fundamental understandings of intracellular temperature-assisted functions.