The Technology
Optogenetics utilizes light-responsive biological components, mostly proteins, to activate cellular processes in engineered and natural cell systems. To optically control these processes, exposure to a light source is required. Therefore, the use of these proteins for therapeutic applications in vivo is limited in environments with poor light penetration such as in deep tissue. To address this problem, photo responsive proteins were engineered to respond to red-shifted wavelengths that demonstrate better tissue penetration. Another approach utilized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) that can absorb light in the Near-infrared (NIR) region and emit photons in the visible range that in turn activates the target proteins. Nevertheless, both methods still suffer from unfavorable tissue penetration, can disturb the protein’s activity as well as damage the tissue. The invention includes novel photo-responsive fusion proteins that have self-activating capabilities by utilizing bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) without the need of an external light source.
Advantages
- Able to activate photo-sensitive proteins without external light intervention
- Overcomes the delivery and brightness difficulties
- Does not require external illumination sources or red-shifting of the photo-responsive protein that could affect its activity
Applications and Opportunities
- Controlled activation of engineered bacterial cells in isolated settings
- Drug production in synthetic cells
- Localization of proteins in engineered cells to specific organelles for targeting of proteins inside the cell
- Targeted delivery of labeled nanoparticles to engineered cells with light control
- Biomolecule patterning on surfaces
- Protein purification
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