To this end, the team from Rice University, Texas and Texas A&M University has received a $1.2m award from the W.M. Keck Foundation to investigate super-radiance’s potential for research and innovation in medicine, engineering and the physical sciences.
Super-resolution imaging (SRI) and single-molecule tracking (SMT) allow scientists to observe molecular-scale processes with extraordinary detail, but these techniques face trade-offs in that achieving higher spatial resolution slows down the imaging process, while faster imaging sacrifices spatial resolution. Moreover, a fundamental limit constrains how precisely individual molecules can be localised.
According to Rice, super-radiance is a phenomenon that occurs when quantum systems such as molecules or nanomaterials collectively emit light in a coordinated and enhanced manner, resulting in greater brightness and faster emission rates. Although this phenomenon has been extensively studied in atomic systems, its application in solid-state and molecular systems remains rare.
“Super-radiance offers a fundamentally new way to rethink imaging at the molecular level,” said Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering at Rice and the research team’s principal investigator. “We aim to translate this quantum property into a powerful tool for imaging with potential applications in biology, chemistry, physics, [and] engineering.”
The research plan involves the development of fluorophores — light-emitting chemical compounds — that can achieve super-radiance. Unlike conventional fluorophores typically used for SRI and SMT that employ individual fluorescent molecules, the new fluorophore design will include aggregates of fluorescent molecules and bundles of carbon nanotubes.
“By making aggregates of such fluorophores and by achieving super-radiance, we will significantly enhance their brightness and emission rate,” Huang said in a statement. “Engineering super-radiant fluorophores for SRI and SMT could open up unknown worlds with even better spatial resolution and finer temporal resolution.”
The project is highly interdisciplinary, integrating cutting-edge quantum physics with advanced bioimaging techniques. By leveraging super-radiance, the researchers aim to address critical challenges in SRI and SMT, including high-throughput imaging and tracking of molecular processes. These improvements could catalyse breakthroughs across fields such as cell biology, materials science and nanotechnology.
“With this technology, we could observe cellular mechanisms in real time and with unmatched clarity,” said Huang. “This opens the door to discoveries we’ve only imagined.”
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