Towards unravelling self-assembly/disassembly mechanisms of photo-switchable supramolecular gels by super-resolution microscopy and their use for drug crystallization

Project Information

LIGHTSUPGEL

Grant agreement ID: 101110492

DOI

10.3030/101110492

Project closed

EC signature date 11 April 2023

Start date 1 October 2023

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 181 152,96

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LIGHTSUPGEL (Towards unravelling self-assembly/disassembly mechanisms of photo-switchable supramolecular gels by super-resolution microscopy and their use for drug crystallization)

Reporting period: 2023-10-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Light-responsive soft materials are attracting increasing interest because they can reorganise their structure when exposed to specific wavelengths of light. Such materials have potential uses in microfabrication, sensing, adaptive surfaces and controlled crystallisation. However, progress in this area has been hindered by the lack of experimental tools capable of visualising, with sufficient precision, how these materials reorganise during light-induced transformations. Without such tools, it is difficult to understand the mechanisms that govern their behaviour or to design next-generation light-controlled materials with improved performance.

The LIGHTSUPGEL project was created to address this challenge. Its overall objective was to develop new methodologies to observe, understand and control how supramolecular gels respond to light. By combining advanced microscopy, photochemistry, computational modelling and soft-matter research, the project aimed to generate fundamental knowledge and experimental strategies that could serve as a basis for future technologies involving light-controlled materials. The project pathway to impact centred on improving scientific understanding and enabling more efficient, contactless and energy-saving approaches to structuring and manipulating soft matter. In the long term, the results are expected to contribute to scientific and technological developments in fields such as materials science, photonics, microfabrication and crystallisation science.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project successfully developed a microscopy-based method that allows real-time visualisation of how light-responsive gels reorganise at the micrometric scale. This method combines precisely controlled illumination with confocal fluorescence imaging, enabling the observation of reversible structural changes as they occur inside the material. This represents a significant advance in the ability to study dynamic soft-matter systems.

Using this capability, LIGHTSUPGEL introduced a fully optical, maskless photopatterning approach capable of creating and erasing microscale features within soft materials. This technique offers a reversible and versatile way to structure soft matter without physical masks or specialised lithographic tools.

The project also showed that light-responsive gels can serve as controllable environments in which crystallisation processes can take place, demonstrating that such materials can influence and modulate the formation of ordered structures. This constituted a proof of feasibility for using photoresponsive soft matrices in crystallisation-related applications.

Alongside experimental developments, a computational screening methodology was created to evaluate candidate photoresponsive molecules prior to synthesis, reducing experimental workload and supporting environmentally responsible research practices. Altogether, the work performed provided new experimental tools, conceptual insights and methodological advances for studying and controlling light-responsive soft materials.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

LIGHTSUPGEL delivered several outcomes that advance the state of the art in photoresponsive soft materials. The microscopy methodology developed in the project enables direct, real-time observation of light-induced transformations with a level of detail that was not previously available, offering new opportunities to investigate the behaviour of dynamic supramolecular systems.

The ability to achieve reversible, maskless photopatterning inside soft materials adds a new capability to the field, suggesting potential future uses in microfabrication, soft robotics, adaptive devices and optical manipulation at the microscale.

The project also demonstrated that light-responsive gels can act as controlled environments that influence crystallisation behaviour. This result opens a promising line of enquiry for future studies exploring how light-driven soft materials may be integrated into crystallisation workflows, though further research is required to expand the range of systems involved and assess performance in broader contexts.

Future uptake of the results may benefit from additional research expanding the family of light-responsive materials, refining their integration with microstructured systems and exploring their use in advanced manufacturing or sensing technologies. The combination of new conceptual understanding and practical methodologies positions LIGHTSUPGEL as a stepping stone toward future developments in intelligent, light-controlled soft materials.