DOCTORAL CANDIDATE 1
AVAILABLE IN CALL 2!
Development of ICL arrays and application in protein sensing
nanoplus GmbH
Location: Gerbrunn, Germany
Supervisor: Dr. Robert Weih
Munster Technological University
Location: Cork, Ireland
Supervisor: Dr. Maria Kotlyar
OBJECTIVES
In this project, the DC will receive hands on training on the design and fabrication of active and passive photonic components. These shall be used in a range of different sensing modalities for measuring protein denaturation. At the start of the PhD development, fabrication of active components, i.e. light sources, will be carried out at NP, going from single DFB-ICLs to ICL arrays with a minimum of 5 laser lines on a single chip which shall target the α-helical (for BSA e.g. 1655 cm-1) as well as β-sheet (1617 cm-1, 1692 cm-1) secondary structure elements. The DC will learn to operate the laser individually, enabling multi-wavelengths spectroscopy and determine the most relevant wavelengths for monitoring protein structure. Special attention will be laid on the operation mode in order to minimize thermal crosstalk and evaluate suitable driving schemes. The research will focus on passive devices for evanescent wave spectroscopy at MTU. DC1 will simulate and fabricate planar waveguides using Si on CaF2 material system as well as several multimode interference couplers (1:2, 2:2, 3:3) which will be used as building blocks in realising complex sensing schemes such as an integrated passive MZIs (designs provided by DC2 and DC9). Protein sensing experiments will be conducted at MTU building on the set-ups developed within PROTEMIC.
EXPECTED RESULTS
The optimized design will lead to ICLs and ICL arrays with low power consumption, cw and pulsed operation at room temperature. Average power will be > 10 mW and sufficient for measuring proteins in aqueous solutions. Measurement protocols based on the produced ICL array will allow a high time resolution as required for fast protein denaturations, which will be induced either through temperature or rapid changes in the chemical environment, like pH changes. Pulsed operation using different pulse frequencies for each laser of the array and the use of demodulation techniques will enable simultaneous measurements at all wavelengths using a single detector. The gained advantages in terms of speed and gained time resolution will be documented. These lasers can be used for real-time monitoring of protein denaturation (folding) in various physiochemical conditions. The DC will study pH induced protein denaturation on the example poly-L-lysin prior to testing samples from the industrial partners. The acquired data will be evaluated by chemometric approaches and the obtained insights will be used for the development of functional models on protein denaturation. These models will enhance our understanding of protein denaturation dynamics, offering insights with broad applications in drug discovery and biopharmaceutical development.
Planned Secondment:
Paul Scherrer Institut
Ph.D. Awards From:
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Munster Technological University
N.B. Secondments are indicative and may be subject to change
This project is part of Work Package 3
for Work Package 3 Overview