Imaging and Control of Biological Transduction using NV-Diamond
Abstract
The objective of this proposal is to further develop nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond as quantum sensors of biological phenomena via the sensitivity of NV centers to electric and magnetic fields, temperature, and chemical signals; and also to engineer a biological interface for actuating biological processes using NV centers, with a particular focus on NV centers located in diamond nanocrystals (nanodiamonds). The technical approach divides this main objective into four closely coupled research activities across two MURI universities: (1) optimize NV-nanodiamond synthesis; (2) realize stable, biocompatible diamond surface functionalizations; (3) advance NV sensitivity to chemical and biological systems; and (4) develop and test strategies for NV-based manipulation of biological transduction. Systematic studies will be performed to enhance the performance and capabilities of NV spin and charge-state sensitivity to chemical and biological processes. Examples include developing and applying quantum control techniques to increase the NV spin coherence and spin lattice lifetimes in nanodiamonds; improving the efficiency of the NV spin-state optical readout by quantum-assisted techniques and spin-to-charge-state conversion; developing new methods for encoding biological signals onto the NV spin and charge states; and exploiting correlations among different physical and chemical signals sensed by the NV spin (electric and magnetic fields, temperature changes, etc.). Strategies to reach the ultimate goal of NV-based manipulation of biological transduction include: (i) exploiting the environment-sensitive NV fluorescence as a biological interface via wavelength-engineered optogenetic ion channels; (ii) employing NV-nanodiamonds as a photoactive delivery vehicle of biochemical cargoes in order to control and modulate biochemical and bioelectrical transduction processes in living cells; (iii) applying NV-nanodiamonds anchored to microbial opsins to control neural signaling in an analog fashion; (iv) leveraging electric field sensing using NV charge-state conversion to monitor and manpulate cell membrane potentials; (v) using electron-reporter-spin techniques to realize NV quantum actuators of biomolecule spin states; and (vi) exploring fundamental questions about cellular signaling in natural cellular systems such as isolated neurons and whole C. elegans, in vivo. Note that the effort will include a strong computational modeling component to help guide the design of nanodiamonds and optogenetic channels and inform interpretation of the experimental results. The effort seeks to develop new quantum methods for sensing, imaging, and optically controlling both intra- and inter-cellular biochemical/electrical transduction, thus significantly expanding the tool sets for life science research and potentially clinical applications. If successful, NV-diamond technology developed by this program could have enabling impact on DoD capabilities such as the development of improved brain/machine interfaces; making detailed brain wiring diagrams, to inform the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems; early diagnosis and effective treatment of neurological disorders at both the cellular and network levels; and discovering antidotes to neurotoxins, pathogens, and other diseases that affect cellular signaling.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1510548
Entities
People
- Ronald L. Walsworth
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Harvard University
- United States Army