Terahertz Technology and Biology

THz spectroscopy of proteins in aqueous media

This project aims to achieve a world first: to experimentally demonstrate—using an interdisciplinary approach involving biologists, physicists, and electronics engineers specializing in terahertz instrumentation (1 THz = 10¹² Hz)—the mechanisms by which biomolecules communicate with one another over long distances under normal physiological conditions.
A scientific breakthrough related to this project therefore lies in demonstrating the activation (under physicochemical conditions typical of the cellular cytoplasm) of long-range, high-frequency electromagnetic interactions within a living cell. These interactions, by selectively attracting the various molecular partners involved in specific biochemical reactions, would govern the “molecular machinery.” The demonstration of these interactions would represent a revolution in our understanding of how living matter functions.

BSA oscillations outside thermodynamic equilibrium.

These long-range interactions between biomolecules (where “long-range” refers to distances of up to a few hundred nanometers) will be demonstrated primarily by measuring the emitted electromagnetic field using a biocompatible THz near-field experiment. The development of such instrumentation in itself promises technological advances.

In terms of applications, this project paves the way for non-chemical, external control of basic cellular functions (gene expression, metabolism, mitosis, etc.) through entirely new non-pharmacological medical interventions. It may help explain the therapeutic effects widely observed when electromagnetic fields—applied externally—are used on cancer cells.

• September 3, 2018: Publication of an article in Physical Review X titled “Out-of-equilibrium collective oscillation as phonon condensation in a model protein.”
• Nardecchia et al., “Out-of-equilibrium collective oscillations of a model protein in the THz frequency domain,” link to ArXiv (2017).