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Photon Upconversion Hydrogels for 3D Optogenetics
Author(s) -
Meir Rinat,
Hirschhorn Tal,
Kim Sungsoo,
Fallon Kealan J.,
Churchill Emily M.,
Wu Dino,
Yang Hee Won,
Stockwell Brent R.,
Campos Luis M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202010907
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , photon upconversion , optogenetics , materials science , blue light , irradiation , optoelectronics , biophysics , nanotechnology , photochemistry , luminescence , chemistry , physics , neuroscience , nuclear physics , polymer chemistry , biology
The ability to optically induce biological responses in 3D has been dwarfed by the physical limitations of visible light penetration to trigger photochemical processes. However, many biological systems are relatively transparent to low‐energy light, which does not provide sufficient energy to induce photochemistry in 3D. To overcome this challenge, hydrogels that are capable of converting red or near‐IR (NIR) light into blue light within the cell‐laden 3D scaffolds are developed. The upconverted light can then excite optically active proteins in cells to trigger a photochemical response. The hydrogels operate by triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion. As proof‐of‐principle, it is found that the hydrogels trigger an optogenetic response by red/NIR irradiation of HeLa cells that have been engineered to express the blue‐light sensitive protein Cry2olig. While it is remarkable to photoinduce the clustering of Cry2olig with blanket NIR irradiation in 3D, it is also demonstrated how the hydrogels trigger clustering within a single cell with great specificity and spatiotemporal control. In principle, these hydrogels may allow for photochemical control of cell function within 3D scaffolds, which can lead to a wealth of fundamental studies and biochemical applications.