Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HYPERION (Optical Sequencing inside Live Cells with Biointegrated Nanolasers)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-08-01 al 2025-01-31
Deciphering the code of life has sparked one of the biggest scientific endeavours in human history. Today, about 20 years after the completion of the Human Genome Project, databases around the globe host over a million genomes. Surprisingly, one of the most important results that has emerged from this abundance of genetic information is how diverse and complex the processes are that control the constant regeneration, preservation, and adaptation of life. Understanding the relationships between cellular genotype and phenotype is therefore of fundamental importance in developmental biology as well as in the biomedical sciences.
Many molecular mechanisms that shape our body during our life are still largely unknown due to the limitations of current sequencing technologies which can only glimpse a single moment in time. In stark contrast, biological cells constantly monitor their function and can, if needed, quickly adjust to changes in their environment by the transfer of information between the nucleus and the cellular protein machinery in form of RNA. Yet despite their essential function it is extremely challenging to record these highly dynamic profiles of intracellular RNA. Gathering transcriptomic profiles from intact cells and within living organisms therefore represents a major challenge for any existing sequencing and sensing technology.
Here, HYPERION introduces an entirely new concept of optical sequencing to detect transcriptomic information in real time and inside living biological cells. It is based on ultra-sensitive optical sensors that combine recent advancements in extreme optics with a new concept to spatially confine RNA molecules. These lasers could be adapted to sense other biomolecules and mark the beginning of a new era in intracellular biosensing. Like the titan god of light, supposed to bring mankind the gift of sight, HYPERION will exploit the unrivalled precision of laser light to uncover the processes that shape life on the molecular level.
Many molecular mechanisms that shape our body during our life are still largely unknown due to the limitations of current sequencing technologies which can only glimpse a single moment in time. In stark contrast, biological cells constantly monitor their function and can, if needed, quickly adjust to changes in their environment by the transfer of information between the nucleus and the cellular protein machinery in form of RNA. Yet despite their essential function it is extremely challenging to record these highly dynamic profiles of intracellular RNA. Gathering transcriptomic profiles from intact cells and within living organisms therefore represents a major challenge for any existing sequencing and sensing technology.
Here, HYPERION introduces an entirely new concept of optical sequencing to detect transcriptomic information in real time and inside living biological cells. It is based on ultra-sensitive optical sensors that combine recent advancements in extreme optics with a new concept to spatially confine RNA molecules. These lasers could be adapted to sense other biomolecules and mark the beginning of a new era in intracellular biosensing. Like the titan god of light, supposed to bring mankind the gift of sight, HYPERION will exploit the unrivalled precision of laser light to uncover the processes that shape life on the molecular level.
The project involves the fabrication of a new type of optical sensor that is capable to detect single molecules under standard biological conditions. In addition to the nanofabrication and biointgration of the optical sensor, a new high-speed spectrometer is developed to allow optical sequencing at extremely high sampling rates.
The project has the potential to advance sequencing technologies beyond the state-of-the-art. HYPERION can therefore have a significant impact in the field of optical sensing, cell biology, and genetics.