Next generation molecular sensing (NGSens)

NGSens aims to develop molecular biosensors capable of identifying and measuring single biomolecules using two complementary approaches. 1) By leveraging natural cellular communication mechanisms and implementing them in synthetic liposomes as artificial cells. 2) Developing an innovative sensor technology based on Raman spectroscopy, which enables the detection of single protein molecules. In this 3-year project, we will mimic cellular signal transduction strategies using nanoengineered sensors. Specifically, we will develop artificial cell-based biosensors and single protein resolution Raman sensors. As a significant leap from the current state-of-the-art, the proposed biosensors will be used for single-cell proteomics and diagnostic devices for low-abundance analytes.

Our vision in this project is to develop ground-breaking technologies towards single molecule sensing by developing using the two approaches with partnership of five research groups at University of Oulu. These groups currently host more than 80 researchers which sets the starting point for this project. The research groups already have several joint projects and are all located on the same campus (University of Oulu, Kontinkangas, Biocenter building), hence a strong collaborative environment exists in the project team.