Subcellular Imaging of Temperature and Magnetic Field

Biomedical sensing at the subcellular level faces challenges with current tools, particularly regarding sensitivity and access to necessary data. A need exists for microscopes capable of functioning in a 3D space to image molecules and physical parameters, such as minute temperature changes due to drug-receptor interactions and mitochondrial activity

Quantum sensors offer the possibility of significantly more efficient and accurate medical diagnoses thanks to their increased sensitivity and novel form factor options. Specifically for subcellular imaging, quantum sensing offers improved sensitivity and access to biomedical data over current tools. A possible solution involves the creation of a subcellular microscope with multiple sensors integrated to capture desired data in living cells. This sensor system can utilise an array of NV diamonds to obtain submicron maps of cellular temperature and magnetic field gradients originating e.g. from drug treatments. The arrays could be able to map several interacting cells as well as electrical field gradients both across cell membranes and within cells.

Improved sensing capabilities at the subcellular level could be transformative. This advancement could support drug discovery by enabling improvement in the binding of agents to biological samples. It could also help in treating diseases by providing more accurate measurement of drug delivery. Furthermore, it could signal drug delivery pathways and provide a single platform capable of obtaining multimodal data from a single sample