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SPP 1601:  New Frontiers in Sensitivity for EPR Spectroscopy: from Biological Cells to Nano Materials

Fachliche Zuordnung Chemie
Förderung Förderung von 2012 bis 2020
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 198612328
 
Erstellungsjahr 2021

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

The priority program SPP 1601 brought together about 40 German principal investigators (PIs) working on very different areas of natural sciences, developing electron spin resonance (ESR/EPR) as a common spectroscopic tool. The technique allows for the detection of paramagnetic centers and their coupled magnetic nuclei on a time scale as short as nanoseconds and with a spatial resolution from the atomic up to the nanometer scale. Our strategy was to cross-fertilize several advances in specific areas of biological and material sciences taking advantage of recent progress in hardware, microwaves and digital technologies as well as leveraging synergy with the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The priority program bundled all these research areas in a coordinated effort, with the shared goal to increase sensitivity of EPR in biology, chemistry, materials science, and physics and opening new application fields such as in-cell EPR or studies of molecular machines, thin-film solar cells and nano materials. In a synergistic fashion between chemistry, physics and theory, groups explored the capability of pulsed experiments based on arbitrary microwave pulses using recently available fast electronics. Other groups developed new approaches for spectroscopy in the THz range or micro resonators to access nanostructures. In a parallel track, groups working on single molecule detection took inspiration from recent developments in spectroscopy of biomolecules and labelling procedures to establish new atomic scale sensors. Also, on the biological and biophysical side tremendous progress was achieved in the field of spin labelling for biomolecules, which led to new studies on molecular machines and of biomolecules in cell. Major scientific results were presented to the reviewer’s panel in a final colloquium in Leipzig, September 2018. The priority program has substantially contributed in reshaping the research landscape in EPR spectroscopy in Germany and world-wide, but has also repositioned the importance of EPR with respect to other significant areas of spectroscopy, for instance NMR, or biophysics and physics. The concept of the SPP was so attractive, that the National Science Foundation (NSF) was immediately inspired (in 2012) to create a parallel network (called SharedEPR), which merged in a mutually sponsored German/US collaborative program. This unprecedented initiative led DFG to fund a large amount of international research exchanges as well as the attendance of international conferences and schools worldwide. In addition to the collaboration with the US, exchange with Israel was particularly in forefront. Several initiatives were adopted to support young investigators, for instance though research exchanges, schools and the organization of their own yearly young investigator’s workshops. Particular attention was dedicated to promote the career of young female students and researchers. All these measures fostered a new generation of successful scientists, with 38 PhD graduations, 4 habilitations and 11 professorships in Germany. New international activities were started, for instance the draft of the first Whitepaper on EPR contributed by 28 international experts including several SPP PIs.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

Zusatzinformationen

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