Event Date
Light plays a central role in science, shaping both how we study living systems and how we perceive the world around us. As we observe in daily life, light has difficulty penetrating living biology tissue, mainly because of scattering and absorption. This limitation hampers the use of light in biological research, often necessitating invasive procedures such as tissue sectioning, insertion of optical devices, and surgical removal of overlying structures to modulate and image biological activity. To address these challenges, my lab has developed several methods for deep-tissue light delivery and optical imaging. First, we leveraged defect engineering to synthesize trap-controlled mechanoluminescent materials as an ultrasound-scanning in vivo light source. These materials can be delivered intravenously and emit light locally at the ultrasound focus. This approach enables on-demand and dynamically programmable light emission patterns at substantial tissue depths in a noninvasive manner, facilitating a wide range of light-based applications in live animals. Furthermore, we recently developed a new approach to achieve optical transparency in live animals by leveraging the Kramers-Kronig relations in materials science, which enables effective engineering of the refractive index within biological tissues. We demonstrated that tissues in living rodents can be rendered optically transparent in a reversible and repeatable manner through the application of these dye molecules. I will conclude my talk by envisioning an invisible future -- one in which advances in physics, chemistry, and materials science transform biological imaging and light-based therapies.