QuSeC-TAQS: Quantum Sensing Platform for Biomolecular Analytics

This research project aims at the development of a quantum sensing platform for biomolecular analytics. If successful, this work will pave the way to a quantum-enabled biosensor that can detect different protein binding events. Such a novel quantum sensing technology will form the basis for a new generation of biomedical devices capable of monitoring the concentration of thousands of proteins in blood and, thereby, detect diseases before their clinical manifestation. The convergent aspect of this research program will furthermore train a next generation of quantum scientists and engineers that are able to venture beyond the current boundaries and bring quantum technology into the life sciences. Nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamond have emerged as a powerful technology sensitive enough to detect the EPR spectrum of individual biomolecules. By combining NV-based quantum sensors with DNA-aptamer protein binding assays, this project explores a new robust bio-analytics platform that can spectroscopically differentiate between different protein binding events. The project pursues the following four key scientific challenges that will form the basis for such a quantum-enabled bio-analytical device: (i) engineering of a DNA-aptamer – quantum sensor interface, (ii) understanding and controlling noise inherent to biological interfaces, (iii) integrating diamond photonics in biosensors, and (iv) engineering transduction of biological events to quantum-detectable signals. As a result, this work will demonstrate the fundamentals of a quantum-enabled bioanalytical device that is capable of interfacing intact proteins with a coherent quantum sensor and that is able to distinguish specific single-protein binding events with a low false-positive rate. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.