Need for 2 photon measurements to demonstrate advanced capability of LightOx probes and inform new probe development

LightOx are a drug development company based in the North East of England that has made its light-activated products available to other researchers to develop and understand the biological processes that occur in a cell. These "LightOx Probes" act to show biological researchers the importance of specific cell functions and the mechanisms that cells use to survive and grow. LightOx has shown that their Probes are capable of emitting fluorescence when they are activated by short wavelengths of light (violet or blue light), allowing researchers to see where a Probe is situated inside a cell. Short wavelengths of light efficiently activate this fluorescence, but this light only penetrates to short distances and can be damaging to cells. Some of our customers have shown that LightOx Probes can also be activated by much longer wavelength light by a novel technique known as two-photon absorption. This approach has major advantages as longer wavelengths of light (red light) penetrate materials much better and are also non-toxic to cells; thus, two-photon absorption would allow researchers to look at LightOx probes in challenging biological samples such as cancerous tumours.

LightOx have partnered with one of the world's leading technology facilities, the Central Laser Facility (CLF) in Didcot, Oxford, on this A4I project to further understand the two-photon absorption properties of LightOx Probes. The CLF is equipped with state-of-the-art laser instrumentation to analyse the two-photon absorption properties of molecules and, together, LightOx and scientists at the CLF will work to undertake precise measurements of LightOx Probes that will enable us to build a picture of the ideal molecule that will provide the best two-photon absorption. Molecules that are more efficiently activated by two-photon absorption will make it easier for researchers to study cells/tissues using this technique.

LightOx already sell their LightOx Probes through a global distributor and have noticed that there are very few probes on the market that are capable of two-photon absorption. Hence, LightOx sees that developing LightOx Probes with strong two-photon absorption could fill a gap in the research tools market. However, LightOx are a small company (15 employees) and do not have the equipment/expertise to measure two-photon absorption. Hence, we have partnered with the CLF to undertake this ambitious project that aims to establish a new product line for LightOx that promises to enable researchers across the world to make new discoveries in fields such as cancer, cell biology and therapeutics.