Dresden 2020 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 5: Bioimaging and Biospectroscopy I

BP 5.3: Talk

Monday, March 16, 2020, 15:45–16:00, HÜL 386

Near Infrared Imaging and Sensing with Carbon Nanotubes — •Sebastian Kruss — Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Deutschland

Carbon nanomaterials such as semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are versatile building blocks for optical biosensors and labels. SWCNTs fluoresce in the near infrared (nIR, 900-1700 nm) and their optoelectronic properties are very sensitive to changes in the chemical environment but a) achieving high selectivity and sensitivity and b) targeting or delivering those sensors to specific locations in cells or organisms is still a great challenge. Therefore, we use novel chemical and physical approaches to tailor SWCNTs. In the past years we have made substantial progress in the chemical design and used it to image complex processes in biological systems. 1. We tailored the corona phase around SWCNTs to enhance selectivity and photophysics of SWCNT-based sensors for the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. Such sensors were used to image release of these signaling molecules from cells (neurons, blood platelets) with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. 2.SWCNTs were conjugated to nanobodies that can be targeted to any Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) moiety. These SWCNTs were used for in vivo tracking of single kinesin motors and microrheology measurements in living drosophila embryos. 3. Peptides were incorporated into the organic corona phase around SWCNTs to target cell surface receptors. This approach enabled us to label for the first time integrins on human blood platelets in the nIR.