SmartSAST SIGNED

Project "SmartSAST" data sheet

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 Partnership

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 Project objective

Visualizing the complexity of living matter non-invasively and with high-resolution represents an indispensable element for progress in science. Unresolved issues as the individuation of early-stage cancers, or the spatial organization of the roots microbiomes, can benefit from advancements in photoacoustic imaging (PAI). This appealing technology combines the benefits of light as input and ultrasounds as output, offering a compelling combination of good resolution, high penetration depth, and non-invasiveness. However, PAI is not suitable to study multicomponent living systems because current strategies operate with simple probe-detector setups. With SmartSAST (Smart Sound-activated Absorption Shifting Tags), I propose to enable modularity and multiplexing through the development of photoacoustic probes based on protein tags that non-covalently bind with photoresponsive organic chromophores named sonogens. The supramolecular nature of SmartSAST ensures great modularity as the sonogens can be easily refreshed or substituted. The change in optical properties of the probes upon assembly guarantees great contrast against the background. Finally, via rationally designing photo-isomerizable sonogens that bind the protein just in a specific isomeric form, SmartSAST imparts an unprecedented level of control in PAI. Upon photo-modulating the supramolecular dynamics of these probes and extracting their kinetic signatures, dynamic contrast and multiplexing will be achieved with high spatial resolution. SmartSAST project aims to develop a fully operative technology based on new fundamentals bases. The project includes the synthesis of sonogens, the engineering of protein tags, the thermokinetic and photochemical characterization of the probes and their application in PAI. This new approach to PAI will unlock the non-invasive study of deeply embedded complex biological targets in real-time. Dissemination and communication activities will secure the great impact of SmartSAST.