A mid-infrared laser spectroscopy sensor based on surface waves for the study of the anisotropic protein conformational changes.
| Componente | Categoria |
|---|---|
| Alberto Sinibaldi | Dottorando/Assegnista/Specializzando componente il gruppo di ricerca / PhD/Assegnista/Specializzando member of the research group |
| Alessandro Nucara | Componenti il gruppo di ricerca / Participants in the research project |
| Francesco Michelotti | Componenti il gruppo di ricerca / Participants in the research project |
| Componente | Qualifica | Struttura | Categoria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonetta Baldassarre | ricercatore T.D.A | Sapienza - dipartimento di fisica | Altro personale Sapienza o esterni / Other personnel Sapienza or other institution |
| Isabella Chiarotto | ricercatore universitario | Sapienza - dipartimento SBAI | Altro personale Sapienza o esterni / Other personnel Sapienza or other institution |
| Giacomini Patrizio | medico | Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena, Roma | Altro personale Sapienza o esterni / Other personnel Sapienza or other institution |
| Danz Norbert | tecnologo | Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering, Jena, Germany | Altro personale Sapienza o esterni / Other personnel Sapienza or other institution |
| Fritzsche Wolfgang | ricercatore | Institue for Photonics Technology, Jena, Germany | Altro personale Sapienza o esterni / Other personnel Sapienza or other institution |
Organic molecules in aqueous solution, ranging from contaminants and pollutants to biomedical markers for cancer diagnostics, are nowadays detected with compact, automated laser sensors based on evanescent waves in the visible range, however these molecules are not easily identified by state-of-the-art photonic devices. The original H2020 Key Enabling Technology proposal (KET-Photonics call) "WaterMirror" aimed at solving this issue by introducing infrared vibrational spectroscopy sensors bases on evanescent waves and tunable quantum cascade lasers, capable of identifying molecules by their vibrational infrared spectrum. The present project aims at executing at Sapienza University of Rome the Work Package 1 of the H2020 proposal WaterMirror.
An evanescent-wave sensor for mid-infrared wavelengths (from 5 to 11 micrometers), based on one-dimensional photonic crystals, will be designed, fabricated and tested in our laboratories (located in two collaborating Departments) with the available quantum cascade laser systems and microbolometer detector arrays. The anisotropic conformational changes of proteins of biomedical interest will be detected with the new sensor in an aqueous environment, controlled by an available microfluidics platform. This will bring the Technology Readiness Level of WaterMirror from 3 (proof-of-concept) to 4 (system validation in the laboratory). Other European partners will be involved and kept up-to-date for future H2020 proposals.
The present project will broaden the wavelength range of photonics technologies for a wide variety of future molecule-specific sensing applications in security, health and environmental safety.