2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Spatially resolved spectroscopic studies of biological magnetosensitivity
| Project/Area Number |
24350002
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Partial Multi-year Fund |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Physical chemistry
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
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| Keywords | スピン化学 / 発光分析 / クリプトクロム / ラジカル対 / 検鏡 / 生物磁気感受能 / 顕微鏡 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
This research involved the development of a new instrument for imaging the magnetic sensitivity of photochemical reactions on a submicron scale. Using this instrument, radical pairs formed from flavins (molecules believed to be at the heart of biological magnetic sensitivity) and the influence of very weak magnetic fields on their reactivity, were detected in volumes less than 4 millionths of a billionth of a liter. The microscope also allows images to be recorded that display only the regions of a sample where magnetically sensitive photochemical reactions are occurring. This technique is now being applied directly to living cells.
The new imaging microscope developed in this research will enable the study of the magnetic sensitivity of photochemical reactions in a variety of important biological and other contexts, and will help to unlock the secrets of the amazing ability of animals to sense magnetic fields.
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| Free Research Field |
スピン化学
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