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H2020Individual fellowship2018–2020

FUNNANO · Functional Nanoscale Imaging: New Techniques to Probe Living Cells

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2018-06-18 → 2020-06-17
EU contribution
€183,455
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Functional Nanoscale Imaging: New Techniques to Probe Living Cells

The key scientific objectives which connect with the WPs described in the DoA were: 1) Increasing the density of information of SEPM techniques by developing new and more reliable ways to fabricate nanoelectrode and pipettes. 2) Investigating the surface charge of individual living cells and understanding the relation with cellular function and proprieties. 3) Measure the cellular uptake of key molecules to investigate metabolic function with sub-tissue spatial resolution. All objectives were achieved during the period of the project. During the development of the project, the Fellow created new electrochemical probes for SEPM techniques, which are capable of recording multiple information of a system. The Fellow also developed new and smart scanning protocols for both SECM and SICM, which allowed, in combination with the scanning probes developed to massively increase the density of information recorded in a single experiment. On the biological setting, these new developments where employed to investigate metabolism of bacterial cells and complex eukaryote organisms, revelling previous un-seen charge distribution along the cell wall of bacterium and heterogenous respirations rate along the body of a nematode. Those findings cement the idea of smart scanning protocols, lab-on-a-tip approach and self-referencing for electrochemical methods and pave the way to further applications of electrochemistry in biology. They also highlight the importance for single cell/organism measurements in biology which, to date, is dominated by bulk measurements that are blind to single organism heterogeneity.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

This proposal presents unique and innovative approaches for ultra-high-resolution functional electrochemical imaging of living cells, using smart nanometer probes that will enable the investigation of bio-physicochemical process within a single living cell with unprecedented sub-cellular resolution. Truly nanoscale electrochemical probes will be developed that shall be capable of performing multiple in-situ and time-resolved electrochemical measurements, and synchronously map cell topography. This will bring a whole analyses laboratory onto a probe tip in a new conceptual idea of a “lab-on-a-tip”, which is at the core of this proposal. Using PC12 cells as an exemplar, we will investigate cellular uptake/release, cellular membrane charge heterogeneity (down to the single protein) and temperature gradients, as well as chemical and environmental aspects to respiration. The developments from this proposal will represent a major breakthrough in functional electrochemical imaging and will elucidate key cellular processes. This developments will have a huge impact on life sciences and on the electrochemical imaging field and, granted the wide applicability of electrochemical imaging, will be hugely beneficial for other areas of science. The proposal is highly interdisciplinary, and there is a natural fit between the Fellow’s profile and activities at the Host Group and collaborators in Life Sciences. The proposal draws on the Fellow’s solid background in chemistry and instrumentation development, which will be married with the world-leading research on new nanoscale functional imaging techniques of the Warwick Host. With support and expertise from the Host, this project will provide the applicant, Gabriel N. Meloni, with an outstanding opportunity to pioneer a new area of science, from which he will benefit in the future as he develops his independence. The project build and strengthen scientific links between the Gabriel’s home country (Brazil) and groups in Europe.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union