Quantum Enhanced Bioimaging and Sensing for Bioenergy

Critical to the development of biofuels is understanding the chemical and physical environments within individual plant cell or organelles as well as cellular interactions with its environment. The ability to track the chemical exchanges between plant cells and microbial communities in environmental settings could improve the efficiency of microbial conversion of plant-based biomass into biofuels or help identify metabolic bottlenecks where biofuel and biofuel precursors are produced directly in the crop. In this SBIR/STTR, we will develop a new quantum enhanced Raman-based microscopy technique that will improve sensitivity over existing stimulated Raman microscopy techniques and use this technique to perform detection of biofuels, biofuel precursors, or other metabolically important chemical compounds in plant and microbial systems non-destructively. Mesa Photonics has demonstrated squeezed impulsive stimulated Raman spectroscopy. In Phase I, we breadboarded a squeezed source, developed detection electronics, verified the operation of the squeezed source, and demonstrated squeezed impulsive stimulated Raman spectroscopy. The Phase II objectives are to build a squeezed source for impulsive stimulated Raman spectroscopy and microscopy. An impulsive simulated Raman spectroscopy system will be built using the squeezed source and demonstrated by detecting and monitoring the biomolecules involved in biofuel production. Our improved, quantum enhanced, coherent Raman microscopy instrument will significantly transform the microscopy market with cell biology, biomedical, energy materials, bioenergy, and environmental science applications. Improvements will have applications in medicine, Homeland Security, and nano- and meta-materials.