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

Informazioni relative al progetto

LIGHTSUPGEL

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101110492

DOI

10.3030/101110492

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 11 Aprile 2023

Data di avvio 1 Ottobre 2023

Data di completamento 30 Settembre 2025

Finanziato da

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Costo totale

Nessun dato

Contributo UE

€ 181 152,96

Coordinato da

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)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2023-10-01 al 2025-09-30

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

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.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

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.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

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.