Nano-agents for read / write microscopy and nano-macro bridging
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Faculty of Engineering
Abstract
The nanoscale is extremely important to our world, for instance:
- At this scale many of properties of materials we use at the macroscale are determined
- Many biological systems have structure at the nanoscale and operate through series of reactions that take place on the nanoscale
Communicating with the nanoscale is increasingly important for our understanding of our wider world, however, it is much more difficult to do this than at larger scales. There are lots of tools for probing things at the small scale but these have many drawbacks, for instance, optical microscopy does not have sufficient resolution to see things at the nanoscale; atomic force microscopy, which is often used to image object at the nanoscale, can't see inside things like cells; and electron microscopy which is widely used to image and write objects at the nanoscale can't be used on large or living objects.
This proposal aims to develop a new method of communicating with the nanoscale by using small devices, "nano-agents", which can get information in and out of the nanoscale environment. These will operate remotely and without contact with the instrument so they can be placed inside objects, even large and living ones. They will enable the nanoscale environment to be sensed and provide a way to change the nanoscale environment. This will open up new ways to explore and interact with the nanoscale.
- At this scale many of properties of materials we use at the macroscale are determined
- Many biological systems have structure at the nanoscale and operate through series of reactions that take place on the nanoscale
Communicating with the nanoscale is increasingly important for our understanding of our wider world, however, it is much more difficult to do this than at larger scales. There are lots of tools for probing things at the small scale but these have many drawbacks, for instance, optical microscopy does not have sufficient resolution to see things at the nanoscale; atomic force microscopy, which is often used to image object at the nanoscale, can't see inside things like cells; and electron microscopy which is widely used to image and write objects at the nanoscale can't be used on large or living objects.
This proposal aims to develop a new method of communicating with the nanoscale by using small devices, "nano-agents", which can get information in and out of the nanoscale environment. These will operate remotely and without contact with the instrument so they can be placed inside objects, even large and living ones. They will enable the nanoscale environment to be sensed and provide a way to change the nanoscale environment. This will open up new ways to explore and interact with the nanoscale.
Planned Impact
The potential impact of this proposal is very significant. The proposed technology is a generic read / write imaging platform with applications in a great many areas. It turns microscopy from passive observation to active interaction and bridges between the nano-scale and macro-scale. The impact from this proposal will be across a wide range of research areas and applications well beyond the scope of the original proposal.
It will enable two way communication between the macro and nano scale and it will enable this for large and living samples. This is a revolutionary idea that can change the way basic science experiments are performed and allowing researchers to change the environment at the nanoscale at will.
This will enable new ways to inspect and interact with nano engineered materials devices and allow them to be adopted by advanced manufacturing areas such as aerospace which demand performance and safety at the same time. This will allow lighter and safer airframes and engines to be developed leading to societal benefits by allowing lighter, quieter and more fuel efficient aeroplanes to be flown.
It will also enable the interaction with cells and tissue at the sub cellular level so that diagnostics and treatment can be performed at the sub cellular level and bacterial behaviour can be directed.
As well as impacts in science and engineering research this will lead to impacts in manufacturing and healthcare resulting in economic and societal benefits.
It will enable two way communication between the macro and nano scale and it will enable this for large and living samples. This is a revolutionary idea that can change the way basic science experiments are performed and allowing researchers to change the environment at the nanoscale at will.
This will enable new ways to inspect and interact with nano engineered materials devices and allow them to be adopted by advanced manufacturing areas such as aerospace which demand performance and safety at the same time. This will allow lighter and safer airframes and engines to be developed leading to societal benefits by allowing lighter, quieter and more fuel efficient aeroplanes to be flown.
It will also enable the interaction with cells and tissue at the sub cellular level so that diagnostics and treatment can be performed at the sub cellular level and bacterial behaviour can be directed.
As well as impacts in science and engineering research this will lead to impacts in manufacturing and healthcare resulting in economic and societal benefits.
Organisations
Publications
Smith RJ
(2021)
3D phonon microscopy with sub-micron axial-resolution.
in Scientific reports
Pérez-Cota F
(2020)
Apparent attenuation by opto-acoustic defocus in phonon microscopy.
in Photoacoustics
Perez-Cota F
(2017)
Cell imaging by phonon microscopy: sub-optical wavelength ultrasound for non-invasive imaging
in Imaging and Microscopy
Clark M
(2015)
Cell imaging using sub-optical wavelength ultrasonics
Fuentes-Domínguez R
(2020)
Characterising the size and shape of metallic nano-structures by their acoustic vibrations.
in Nanoscale
Pérez-Cota F
(2023)
Classification of cancer cells at the sub-cellular level by phonon microscopy using deep learning
in Scientific Reports
Li W
(2016)
Crystallographic Orientation Determination of Hexagonal Structure Crystals by Laser Ultrasonic Technique
in Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Fuentes-Domínguez R
(2021)
Design of a resonant Luneburg lens for surface acoustic waves.
in Ultrasonics
Colombi A
(2017)
Enhanced sensing and conversion of ultrasonic Rayleigh waves by elastic metasurfaces.
in Scientific reports
Marques L
(2015)
Facile approach to generating polymeric nanoarrays containing populations of nanoparticles
in Micro & Nano Letters
Description | Nanoscale ultrasound with wavelengths less than that of light in the visible part of the spectrum can be used for high resolution imaging of live biological cells and that significantly higher than optical resolution maybe generate with this system. |
Exploitation Route | Ultrasonics of small things |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Electronics Energy Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | To perform ultrasonics of small objects like cells. This has lead to a number of publications demonstrating the ability of nano-ultrasound to image biologically significant properties in live and fixed cell, for instance to differentiate between cancerous and normal cells and to the ability to perform similar measurements on solid state devices. we've also been able to demonstrate super resolution both laterally and axially. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |