Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PATHOS (Photonic and nAnomeTric High-sensitivity biO-Sensing)
Reporting period: 2020-04-01 to 2021-07-31
Within the EU FET-OPEN H2020, the PATHOS consortium in 2019-2024 will plan to develop a radically new technology for the sensing of bio-systems and in-vivo diagnostics of biomedical conditions using hitherto unexploited tools (pioneered by the partners of this very interdisciplinary consortium): unconventional complex-system dynamical control and information sampling/processing, e.g. (i) magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) and optically-detected magnetic-resonance (ODMR) sensing via cooling/suppression of thermal noisy background in-vivo, (ii) NMR intra-molecule/intra-tissue sensing and intra-cell NV-center thermometry, (iii) advanced sensing-data processing, including high-order correlation spectroscopy.
PATHOS will integrate the skills and facilities of 5 worldwide leading groups with complementary expertise in a multi-disciplinary consortium. PATHOS builds on recent ground-breaking results from its members resulted in publication of several publications including Nature group and patents, demonstrating skills ranging from theoretical physics to photonics, condensed matter and biophysics.
It is the purpose of PATHOS to pursue our potentially ground-breaking multidisciplinary effort in biomedical diagnostics. Starting from novel fundamental approaches to dynamical control, we seek to create new paradigms concerning control or guidance of spin evolutions in complex spin networks, so as to gear them to hitherto unforeseen MR applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. In a nutshell, PATHOS aims to further the very fruitful synergy pioneered by our partners towards developing new task-oriented comprehensive sensing strategies and exploring the new frontiers they entail for NMR, optical and MRI based analysis.
PATHOS will integrate the skills and facilities of 5 worldwide leading groups with complementary expertise in a multi-disciplinary consortium. PATHOS builds on recent ground-breaking results from its members resulted in publication of several publications including Nature group and patents, demonstrating skills ranging from theoretical physics to photonics, condensed matter and biophysics.
It is the purpose of PATHOS to pursue our potentially ground-breaking multidisciplinary effort in biomedical diagnostics. Starting from novel fundamental approaches to dynamical control, we seek to create new paradigms concerning control or guidance of spin evolutions in complex spin networks, so as to gear them to hitherto unforeseen MR applications in chemistry, biology and medicine. In a nutshell, PATHOS aims to further the very fruitful synergy pioneered by our partners towards developing new task-oriented comprehensive sensing strategies and exploring the new frontiers they entail for NMR, optical and MRI based analysis.
During the first year of PATHOS, we have advanced as planned towards the expected long-term objectives.
From the theory side, we have introduced conceptually novel approaches to the enhancement of heteronuclear spin-polarization transfer by means of repeated measurements, phase flips or spin-orientation flips for one of the spin species (alias the probe). Secondly, we have proposed new optics experiments for Zeno-based noise spectroscopy and studied several aspects of non-Markovian probes where the noise is correlated in time. Moreover, we have been working on the general formulation of the theory and practice of filtering environmental noise. Finally, we have also started to explore a new path where more recent deep learning techniques can improve the sensing properties of our classical and quantum probes.
From the experimental side, we have constructed a widefield NV-based magnetic microscope, to form the basis for the experimental demonstrations in this project. We have initiated studies of enhanced magnetic sensing capabilities through compressed sensing techniques. We have developed novel schemes for controlling dense, interacting spin ensembles, through robust pulses relying on rapid adiabatic passage, as well as generalized sequences based on the icosahedral symmetry group. Besides, we have studied spin bath coupling through advanced noise spectroscopy schemes, achieving both efficient bath characterization using uneven echo sequences, as well as detailed spectroscopy with modulated, continuous control (the gDYSCO scheme). In addition, we have improved the sensitivity of spectroscopy methods based on homonuclear mixing and recoupling in magnetic resonance experiments. Moreover, we have shown a spectral super-resolution reconstruction by using random lasers and also started preparing the setup for an optical experimental study of Zeno dynamics and related-sensing applications. Finally, we have upgraded our setups in several ways resulting in an increase of magnetic field sensitivity of ODMR-based magnetometry protocols ultimately for applications of sensing in biological systems.
During its second year, we have advanced as follows. At Weizmann we have found that the Anti-Zeno Effect (AZE) can lead to ≥500-fold reductions in the effective acquisition times in NMR experiments that are crucial for assigning protons in RNAs like those forming the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 viruses. In parallel, at HUJI we have built upon our novel control framework for interacting spin ensembles to develop techniques for efficient spin bath cooling, combining resonant transfer with decoupling sequences. Moreover, we have developed and demonstrated enhanced magnetic and noise sensing using our diamond-based magnetic microscope, along with a novel optical scheme for radical concentration characterization. We have also developed and demonstrated magnetic imaging with enhanced bandwidth, resolution and sensitivity using NV CS. At INRIM we have upgraded the setup for ODMR sensing in several ways. Preliminary measurements of living cells viability after nano-diamond internalization are currently being performed, with the perspective of measuring temperature variation in biological processes at the sub-cellular scale. Moreover, we have completed the realization of an optical set up for quantum Zeno measurements (started during RP1), demonstrating the efficiency of such methods for noise measurements and leading to a joint paper involving 3 PATHOS partners as INRIM, UNIFI and Weizmann. In addition, we have exploited our ODMR setup for magnetic sensing, showing 40 nT/Hz^1/2 magnetic sensitivity in continuous excitation and 70 nT/Hz^½ in biocompatible conditions. Furthermore, while at TUDO new dynamical decoupling (DD) pulse sequences have been proposed and experimentally tested in MRI systems, at UNIFI we have also started to develop other optimization methods based on Machine Learning (ML) methods, e.g. supervised and reinforcement learning algorithms, to predict the unknown noise spectrum avoiding the very large sets of DD measurements.
From the theory side, we have introduced conceptually novel approaches to the enhancement of heteronuclear spin-polarization transfer by means of repeated measurements, phase flips or spin-orientation flips for one of the spin species (alias the probe). Secondly, we have proposed new optics experiments for Zeno-based noise spectroscopy and studied several aspects of non-Markovian probes where the noise is correlated in time. Moreover, we have been working on the general formulation of the theory and practice of filtering environmental noise. Finally, we have also started to explore a new path where more recent deep learning techniques can improve the sensing properties of our classical and quantum probes.
From the experimental side, we have constructed a widefield NV-based magnetic microscope, to form the basis for the experimental demonstrations in this project. We have initiated studies of enhanced magnetic sensing capabilities through compressed sensing techniques. We have developed novel schemes for controlling dense, interacting spin ensembles, through robust pulses relying on rapid adiabatic passage, as well as generalized sequences based on the icosahedral symmetry group. Besides, we have studied spin bath coupling through advanced noise spectroscopy schemes, achieving both efficient bath characterization using uneven echo sequences, as well as detailed spectroscopy with modulated, continuous control (the gDYSCO scheme). In addition, we have improved the sensitivity of spectroscopy methods based on homonuclear mixing and recoupling in magnetic resonance experiments. Moreover, we have shown a spectral super-resolution reconstruction by using random lasers and also started preparing the setup for an optical experimental study of Zeno dynamics and related-sensing applications. Finally, we have upgraded our setups in several ways resulting in an increase of magnetic field sensitivity of ODMR-based magnetometry protocols ultimately for applications of sensing in biological systems.
During its second year, we have advanced as follows. At Weizmann we have found that the Anti-Zeno Effect (AZE) can lead to ≥500-fold reductions in the effective acquisition times in NMR experiments that are crucial for assigning protons in RNAs like those forming the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 viruses. In parallel, at HUJI we have built upon our novel control framework for interacting spin ensembles to develop techniques for efficient spin bath cooling, combining resonant transfer with decoupling sequences. Moreover, we have developed and demonstrated enhanced magnetic and noise sensing using our diamond-based magnetic microscope, along with a novel optical scheme for radical concentration characterization. We have also developed and demonstrated magnetic imaging with enhanced bandwidth, resolution and sensitivity using NV CS. At INRIM we have upgraded the setup for ODMR sensing in several ways. Preliminary measurements of living cells viability after nano-diamond internalization are currently being performed, with the perspective of measuring temperature variation in biological processes at the sub-cellular scale. Moreover, we have completed the realization of an optical set up for quantum Zeno measurements (started during RP1), demonstrating the efficiency of such methods for noise measurements and leading to a joint paper involving 3 PATHOS partners as INRIM, UNIFI and Weizmann. In addition, we have exploited our ODMR setup for magnetic sensing, showing 40 nT/Hz^1/2 magnetic sensitivity in continuous excitation and 70 nT/Hz^½ in biocompatible conditions. Furthermore, while at TUDO new dynamical decoupling (DD) pulse sequences have been proposed and experimentally tested in MRI systems, at UNIFI we have also started to develop other optimization methods based on Machine Learning (ML) methods, e.g. supervised and reinforcement learning algorithms, to predict the unknown noise spectrum avoiding the very large sets of DD measurements.
The purpose of this consortium is first to propose new theoretical sensing schemes by using classical and quantum probes for electric and magnetic external fields, then to test them by using very diverse and complementary experimental platforms as optical setups, NV-centers, NMR, MRI and ODMR, and finally to find practical and robust future sensing applications in biomolecules and live tissues by creating new vestiges of chemical, biophysical and medical information that magnetic resonance can extract by exploiting our novel concepts. To this end, the best and most updated developments, expertise and creativity must be harnessed –in terms of dynamical control, data processing, magnetic resonance and photonics. Specifically, this project goes beyond the state-of-the-art in terms of cooling and control protocols, noise spectroscopy schemes and novel correlative measurements, to create a powerful toolbox with the potential of revolutionizing the biological studies and medical diagnostics. Achieving this goal requires creating a truly interdisciplinary interaction. The partners’ collaborative experience has taught us that although this could be extremely rewarding, the three communities that this project tries to bridge often speak in different languages on the same subjects. Therein lies the risk of this project, but we strongly believe that therein also lies its enormous potential. At its conclusion, we expect to fill the current gaps between the three communities, and thereby reap fruit that we believe will have a lasting impact on medical diagnostics.