Project description
Innovative biomaterial imaging platform offers unprecedented insight into cells, bacteria and tissue
Rapidly visualising molecular changes in our organism would allow us to specifically target deadly cancer cells or take antibiotics before developing resistance. Combining femtosecond spectroscopy and digital holography, the ERC-funded PIRO project plans to develop the most suitable tool for identifying key cellular building blocks on the basis of their vibrational or chemical fingerprint. PIRO will produce a phototransient infrared holographic microscope called PIROscope that will combine femtosecond infrared excitation with visible readout to retrieve images with unprecedented speed, spectral observation window and spatial resolution. If successful, PIRO will help reveal molecular details of breast cancer tissue at high resolution and the metabolic activity of bacteria following antibiotics treatment.
Objective
Molecules are the fundamental building blocks of life: disease is intrinsically linked to molecular malfunction and, sometimes, a tiny molecular error in a single cell can kill an organism. Drugs, such as antibiotics, are designed to protect us: they rid us of pathogens by disrupting their molecular machinery. If unsuccessful, surviving bacteria might adapt to evade future attacks and a few resistant bacteria can cause great damage.
Everything mentioned above relies on specific molecular changes. A technique that could rapidly visualise them holds great promise: it would allow us to specifically target this one deadly cancer cell or adopt antibiotics treatment before resistance emerges. Vibrational imaging, which combines spatial cues with molecular resolution, is the prime-candidate for revealing this molecular stand-off:
Spontaneous Raman readily acquires broadband spectra but is too slow to interrogate large samples. Coherent Raman can measure them but lacks spectral resolution. Finally, Fourier transform infrared microscopy combines spectral resolution and speed but its spatial resolution is insufficient.
PIRO promises to deliver the necessary tool for the job by combining concepts from nonlinear ultrafast spectroscopy and digital holography. PIRO implements a novel vibrational imaging platform: a phototransient infrared holographic microscope (PIROscope). The PIROscope, inspired by our recently introduced ultrafast holographic microscope, combines femtosecond IR-excitation with visible readout to, ultimately, retrieve spectrally resolved quantitative images with an unprecedented combination of imaging speed, spectral observation window and spatial-resolution.
During PIRO we will implement the PIROscope and validate it for biomedical imaging. We will then use our edge over the state-of-the-art to take first steps towards PIRO-based diagnostics by high-resolution visualising breast cancer tissue and the metabolic activity of antibiotics-treated bacteria.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG
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1081 HV Amsterdam
Netherlands
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