Projects Profile
Project Title
Time-resolved Fluorescence Imaging to measure micro-viscosity in living cells
Partnership
Dr Klaus Suhling and Dr James Levitt, King’s College London
Dr Junle Qu, Shenzhen University
Project Aim
The aim of the project is to further develop two novel time-resolved fluorescence imaging techniques which allow mapping the viscosity in living cells recently demonstrated at King’s. This approach only
requires milliliter sample volumes and has great potential to help drug discovery and drug delivery studies, cancer treatment and cell signaling research. The technology also presents huge potentially to medical
researchers in studying disease links of the cell microviscosity and to develop future disease diagnostic bioassays in hospital.
The project will also carry out preliminary assessment on the market needs, competitive advantages of the microviscometry technology, and to investigate the commercialisation potential and routes of microviscosity measurement technology.
Inspiration for the projects
Viscosity is one of the key parameters affecting the diffusion of molecules and proteins. In biosystems, changes in viscosity have been linked to disease and malfunction at the cellular level. While methods to measure the bulk viscosity are well developed, imaging the local micro-viscosity remains a challenge. Viscosity maps of microscopic objects, such as single cells, have until recently been hard to obtain. Microviscosity measurement technologies thus represent an urgent unmet technology demand.
Biophotonics Group at King’s College London has recently demonstrated the feasibility of using nanosecond Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) of molecular rotors to image microviscosity in living cells which was highlighted in Nature Chemistry. An alternative technology to obtain viscosity maps using time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy imaging, or TR-FAIM was also demonstrated by the group. Dr Qu and his team at Shenzhen University has engaged intensively in the measurement of water-soluble molecular rotors with picoseconds fluorescence decay times and have established strong expertise in novel biophotonics and optoelectronic device and instrumentation development, and have, in particular, implemented a picoseconds time resolution FLIM system which is a key skill required for commercial development of the novel microviscometry technology.
In this project complimentary expertise from King’s and Shenzhen universities in biophotonics instrumentation are brought the two together and create a synergy to further develop the novel microviscometry technology and to evaluate the feasibility and suitability of such technologies for further commercialization development.
Commercial Potential and Further Development
The project will produce commercial prototype of fluorescence rotor microviscometry system capable of measure fast fluorescence lifetime and rotational correlation time on a single living cell. The novel microviscometry technology will allow micro living organism and cells to be measured in very small volume and non-destructively. Suitable fluorescent labels and novel measurement methodologies and instrumentation will be investigated and developed.
The project aims at develop this novel technology to provide a technology solution to address the technology need by variety of industries, e.g. pharmaceutical, medical, and life science researchers. The
technology also has a wide potential for other applications and could lead to the open up of other new opportunities in other industry sectors.
