Nanofluidische und Nanophotonische Studie von biomolekularen Wechselwirkungen
Biophysik
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
Most important scientific advances: i) It has opened a new field of single-molecule surface diffusion, statistical mechanics of single-molecule nanofluidics, and unconventional computing with artificial polariton molecules. Nondissipative detection of molecule in room-temperature motivated me to work on nanoPolQ — a programme of fundamental unexplored physics of polaritons in confined nanofluidic space. Mass dependence of wavelength with Bose–Einstein condensates to produce light mass particles makes excitonpolariton a strong candidate to perform sensing. We will develop designs of practical future quantum technological devices suitable for flow dynamics of exciton-polariton in 2D and 1D confined space and study the long-range interaction. ii) Biochemical assays currently used in diagnostics are not sensitive to individual molecules, which would, however, be of crucial importance for the detection of early biomolecular interactions in neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. There are two primary problems that account for the limited sensitivity. The first is diffusion, the random movement of molecules in liquid, and the second is the marking of the molecules concerned with an efficient and stable fluorescent dye for optical detection. To solve these problems, I integrate single-molecule device, a chip, in which molecules are transported one after the other and detected in parallelised form by a plurality of graphene detectors located on the chip. The device contains nanochannels with diameters in the order of magnitude of the molecules to prevent the diffusion-induced escape of individual molecules from the detection volume. I have discovered Debye-layer induced nanometric confinement of liquid. Although the original plan of integrating the nanochannels with graphene nanoribbons that are optically stimulated and electronically recorded could not be materialised due to unavailability of resources, the method of single-molecule surface diffusion in bulk liquid is a pioneering achievement. We are the the first to see surface diffusion of single molecules in room temperature liquid. It was always thought that such phenomenon cannot be observed. However, the optical method I used has opened a completely new avenue. The surface charge induced nanofludiic confinement of single molecules on surface will enable prolong observation of single molecules to study real-time biomechemical assays and structural biology without immobilisation. iv) The research has resulted into a commericial startup. The high-tech research and advanced R&D in metrology need a universal solution to handle individual molecules. The COVID-19 situation pushes us to think about making advanced technology available to the public in safe manner so that nobody is left behind for advancing the science and technology. Our vision is to make nanofluidic technologies available to all scientific users, irrespective of their academic training, available equipment, and socioeconomic background. Democratising a nanotoxicology-free solution in bulk will accelerate to obtain faster innovations in diagnostics, therapeutics, and educational tool to teach basic physics. We have recently engineered a microchip that contains nanoscopic pores like in the plant leaves or cell membranes. We have packaged this chip in a way that anybody with access to state-of-the-art microscopy facilities can investigate molecular studies. Our industrial research is on establishing a novel manufacturing unit to manufacture these chips in bulk. The manufacturing unit will be fully automated and green energy driven. Our newborn startup’s aims to be the next generation leader in artificial lives. We created sub-25 nanometer nanofluidic channels, self-driven flow, and physics-driven AI as building blocks of artificial lives. It has applications in real-time molecular studies for drug discovery, structural biology, material discovery, and pollution sensing at the precision of single molecule level.Public media: The research was talked about in the public media by reputed science communicator Michael Brooks in The New Scientist: ‘Is everything predetermined? Why physicists are reviving a taboo idea’ (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033340-700-is-everything-predetermined-whyphysicists- are-reviving-a-taboo-idea/).
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
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Single-molecule confinement with uniform electrodynamic nanofluidics. Lab on a Chip, 20 (17), 3249–3257
Ghosh, S., et al.
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Superfluidic nature of self-driven nanofluidics at liquid-gas interfaces
Johny, V., Contera, S., Ghosh, S.
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Towards real-time oxygen sensing: From nanomaterials to plasma. Frontiers in Sensors, 2, 21
Johny, V., Chinmaya, K. V., Nihal CV, M., Kurian, V., Rao, G. M., Ghosh, M., Ghosh, S.
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”Nanosecond dynamics of solitons in confined Bose-Einstein condensates.” ChemRxiv
Johny, V., and Ghosh, S.
