Strengthen current research on laser applications and shape the future of laser research at the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida with biophotonics - BIOphotonics and LASer Technologies in Saxony (BIOLASAX).

• Subject Area: Biophysics ; Coating and Surface Technology ; Computer-Aided Design of Materials and Simulation of Materials Behaviour from Atomic to Microscopic Scale ; Experimental Condensed Matter Physics ; Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials ; Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas ; Structural Biology ; Thermodynamics and Kinetics as well as Properties of Phases and Microstructure of Materials
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 498128362

The Laserinstitut Hochschule Mittweida (LHM) aims to advance the digitalization and energy efficiency enhancement of laser technologies and their application. This grant application aims to strengthen the already existing research portfolio and introduces a new research field at LHM, biophotonics.In the field of biophotonics, we intend to use laser light in the visible range to study fluorescently labelled ribonucleic acids (RNA). The structure and function of RNA results from the compaction, i.e. folding, of its primary sequence. We use Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) for the photophysical characterization of the folding process. In our research, we aim to 1. contribute to the structural elucidation of ribonucleic acids using FRET-constrained de novo models (smFRET), 2. incorporate dynamics information (nsFCS) into these structural models to generate lifelike motion patterns in RNA folding, metabolite binding, and catalysis, and in the future 3. advance the application of fluorescently labelled RNA as a FRET sensor in point-of-care diagnostics and bedside applications. To this end, we aim to establish both confocal fluorescence microscopy with time-resolved single photon detection at the single molecule level and ensemble spectroscopy (UV-VIS absorption, fluorescence emission) for the photophysical characterization of fluorescently labelled RNA at LHM and are applying for the necessary equipment.The laser-based surface processing research already established at LHM involves the study of the complex physical processes that occur when a material is irradiated with ultrashort laser pulses in extremely rapid succession. This involves heating of the material within picoseconds, subsequent material ablation and plasma formation. The proposed spatially and temporally resolved spectrograph will be used to investigate the geometry, expansion velocity and optical properties of the vapour and plasma. These measured quantities will enable the validation and further development of existing theoretical models and will not only allow the comprehensive description, but the subsequent optimization of the entire ablation process. Building on the results obtained for the micro-structuring of solid surfaces using pico- and femtosecond laser pulse sequences so called bursts, by means of loaned equipment, the proposed laser will be used to deepen research at the LHM in this area and enable the optimization of laser processes in burst mode. In addition, the use of pulse sequences for new laser-based technologies will be tested and validated. The application-oriented goal is to combine the advantages of burst mode with the well-known benefits of ultrashort laser pulses and to effectively generate high-quality microstructures and surface modifications in a wide variety of materials.

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: Femtosekunden-Burstmode-Laser ; Geräteausstattung RNA Biochemie Labor ; Konfokales Fluoreszenzmikroskop ; emlCCD-Kamerasystem und abbildendes Spektrometer
• Instrumentation Group: 1860 Spezielle Spektrographen und Spektrometer ; 5090 Spezialmikroskope ; 5700 Festkörper-Laser ; 9490 Sonstige Werkstatt- und Laborausrüstung, Werkzeuge
• Applicant Institution: Hochschule Mittweida, University of Applied Sciences
• Leader: Professor Dr. Richard Börner
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Alexander Horn; Professor Dr. Steffen Weißmantel