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

• Subject Area: Chemistry
• Term: from 2012 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 198612328

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a spectroscopic technique that allows detection of paramagnetic centres and magnetic nuclei coupled to them on a time scale as short as nanoseconds and with spatial resolution from the atomic up to the nanometer scale. Recent progress in this technique has been mainly driven by specific needs in the research areas of biological and materials science. The Priority Programme aims at bringing these research areas together in a coordinated effort in order to increase the sensitivity of EPR as an essential spectroscopic technique for biology, chemistry, materials science, and physics. As a major goal, new application fields shall be opened up by EPR such as the investigation of megadalton molecular machines, in cell protein-protein interactions or enzymatic mechanisms, catalytic processes on single-crystalline surfaces, or the light-induced degradation of thin-film solar cells. The intrinsic diversity of the studied systems implies that the envisaged sensitivity enhancement does not only rely on advances on the side of EPR hardware but also involves alternative polarisation and detection schemes and the adaptation of the method to "real world" samples. The Priority Programme encompasses collaborative projects that focus on four major research areas. The first two comprehend methods to increase the sensitivity of EPR experiments: (1) methods for improved excitation and manipulation of electron spin magnetisation and (2) methods for improved EPR detection. The third and fourth areas explore the applicability of these methods in fields of biological and materials sciences, which are not amenable to EPR spectroscopy at the current state-of-the-art. The synergy between the methodological work, on the one side, and application-oriented research, on the other side, will be progressively established. In the first phase (first three years) the groups with focus on applications shall adapt and expand presently available methods for increased sensitivity (such as the use of micro-resonators, THz spectroscopy, electrical or optical excitation, or detection) to their specific purposes. Groups with expertise in EPR methodologies will focus on the design of new experiments. In the second phase of the Priority Programme (long-term goal) the outcome from the methodical work will be tested in a collaborative effort among the consortium and optimised for specific applications.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Switzerland, USA

Projects

• 3D nanoscale imaging of individual spin labels (Applicants Neumann, Philipp ;  Wrachtrup, Jörg ;  Zappe, Andrea )
• Ab initio calculation of EPR parameters for extended periodic systems: Functionalization of surfaces and interfaces (Applicant Gerstmann, Uwe )
• Application of Amplitude/Phase Modulated Pulses for Dipolar EPR Spectroscopy (Applicant Prisner, Thomas F. )
• Broadband EPR in Microresonators (Applicant Suter, Dieter )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Bennati, Marina )
• Development of an unconventional electron paramagnetic resonance detection technique for selective probing of photogenerated and extracted charge carriers in optelectronic and photovoltaic devices by means of pulsed field induced extraction (Applicant Dyakonov, Vladimir )
• Development of efficient ab initio methods for the accurate prediction of EPR parameters in large molecules (Applicant Neese, Frank )
• Distance measurements in the nanometer range by In-Cell Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (Applicants Drescher, Malte ;  Summerer, Daniel )
• Electrically detected electron paramagnetic resonance by pulsed charge carrier extraction for application in thin-film solar cell devices (Applicants Dyakonov, Vladimir ;  Sperlich, Andreas )
• Electrically detected magnetic resonance on nanoscopic devices (Applicants Harneit, Wolfgang ;  Meyer, Carola )
• EPR Microresonators (Applicant Suter, Dieter )
• EPR probeheads for very small samples (Applicants Reijerse, Edward ;  Savitsky, Anton )
• EPR spectroscopy of paramagnetic centers and adsorption complexes in porous metal organic frameworks: Development and application of dielectric resonators and microresonators for investigations of small single crystals (Applicant Pöppl, Andreas )
• IC-based electron spin detection for biomedical and material science applications (Applicant Anders, Jens )
• Improving the sensitivity of THz frequency domain magnetic resonance (Applicant van Slageren, Joris )
• In cell EPR of native paramagnetic protein cofactors (Applicant Bittl, Robert )
• In-organello and in-cell EPR on orthogonally spin-labeled proteins (Applicant Bordignon, Enrica )
• Light-induced magnetization detected by force microscopy: from basic concept to first applications (Applicants Havenith-Newen, Martina ;  Weber, Stefan )
• Light-induced magnetization detected by magnetic force microscopy: from basic concept to first applications (Applicants Havenith-Newen, Martina ;  Weber, Stefan )
• Metal/metal and metal/nitroxyl-labeled compounds for the development of EPR-based distance measurement techniques (Applicant Godt, Adelheid )
• New concepts for high-sensitivity pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance (Applicant Brandt, Martin S. )
• Optimal Control Pulses for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (Applicant Glaser, Steffen )
• Pulsed Electron Paramagnetic Resonance at Millikelvin Temperatures (Applicant Hübl, Hans )
• Pushing the limits of torque-detected electron-spin resonance (Applicant Dressel, Martin )
• Sensitivity enhancement in EPR and electron-nuclear double resonance by pulsed polarization schemes (Applicant Bennati, Marina )
• Sensitivity enhancement of EPR spectroscopy on single crystalline surfaces under UHV conditions by employing an electrical detection scheme (Applicant Risse, Thomas )
• Sensitivity improvement in variable very high frequency EPR for applications in catalysis and protein research (Applicant Schnegg, Alexander )
• Single shot readout of NV detectors for chemically relevant single-molecule magnetic resonance. (Applicant Reinhard, Friedemann )
• Single spin EPR and NMR with diamond atomic spin sensors (Applicants Jelezko, Fedor ;  Plenio, Martin Bodo ;  Wrachtrup, Jörg )
• Site-directed spin labeling EPR spectroscopy in vivo (Applicant Steinhoff, Heinz-Jürgen )
• Spin-dependent transport in fully processed silicon solar cells studied by pulsed Multifrequency Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance below 600 MHz/20 mT and at 263 GHz/9.4 T (Applicant Lips, Klaus )
• Transient EDMR: A novel tool to study charge transport in organic solar cells (Applicant Behrends, Jan )
• Trityl Radicals: New Spin Labels for Nanometer Distance Measurements with higher Sensitivity, at Room Temperature and within Cells (Applicants Hagelueken, Gregor ;  Schiemann, Olav )
• Ultra-wideband DEER and ESEEM on metal centers (Applicant Jeschke, Gunnar )

• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Marina Bennati