Gaining a better understanding of diseases of the nervous system using quantum sensors: Carl Zeiss Foundation supports RPTU
Quantum sensors are expected to make it possible for the first time to monitor disease processes in living cells without leaving any traces. At RPTU, a physicist and two biologists are conducting research into such mini-sensors, which glow using laser light and measurably change their glow when they encounter harmful substances. Their particular aim is to detect reactive oxygen species that contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. The Carl Zeiss Foundation is supporting this approach, which could open up a new field of research, with a “CZS Wildcard” worth almost €900,000.
The team led by Professor Elke Neu-Ruffing, Professor Jan Pielage, and Professor Volker Scheuss is researching genetically encoded quantum sensors (GEQS)—biosensors that are genetically integrated into cells. There, they are designed to monitor disease processes. Until now, genetically encoded fluorescent proteins, i.e., proteins that glow, have been used for this purpose. These proteins change their fluorescence due to chemical interactions. However, the chemical reaction also changes the local concentrations of the reaction partners, thereby disrupting the physiological process.
Sensors from the quantum world
Quantum sensors, on the other hand, can operate non-destructively by detecting cellular pollutants via magnetic interactions. They utilize the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) and the associated magnetic properties that quantum particles naturally possess. When they come into contact with reactive oxygen, their magnetic moment causes the fluorescence and thus the luminescence of the detection proteins used to change.
Impetus for personalized medicine
The sensors will initially be used in nerve cells to contribute to our understanding of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. But there is even more potential: “It is conceivable, for example, that quantum sensors could be used to measure the activity of neurons, as well as signal transmission in the nervous system, which takes place via ion channels,” explains Neu-Ruffing. “Looking beyond the current project, our research could contribute to the advancement of personalized medicine in the future. For example, by examining neurons derived from patients' stem cells. Among other things, this could help to decipher the role of reactive oxygen species in certain patient groups and find the most suitable medications.”
Funded as a “wild” research idea
The CZS Wildcard funding program supports unconventional, “wild” ideas in the STEM field that are radically new, unusual, and therefore particularly daring, and have high innovation potential. CZS Wildcard is aimed at interdisciplinary consortia of at least three researchers.
Scientific contact:
Prof. Dr. Elke Neu-Ruffing
Department of Physics at RPTU
Phone: 0631 205-5788
E-Mail: nruffing(at)rptu.de
Press contact:
Julia Reichelt
university communications
E-Mail: presse(at)rptu.de
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About the Carl Zeiss Foundation
The Carl Zeiss Foundation has set itself the goal of creating space for scientific breakthroughs. As a partner to scientific excellence, it supports both basic research and application-oriented research and teaching in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Founded in 1889 by physicist and mathematician Ernst Abbe, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is one of the oldest and largest private foundations promoting science in Germany. It is the sole owner of Carl Zeiss AG and SCHOTT AG. Its projects are financed from the dividend distributions of the two foundation companies.