ESE Spring Seminar – “Wavelength-Encoded Nanolaser Particles for Highly Multiplexed Single-Cell Analysis”

Understanding single-cell heterogeneity in biological systems is considered the holy grail of biomedicine. However, conventional single-cell analysis methods are constrained by the destructive readout process of DNA barcodes and the broad emission linewidths of fluorescence barcodes, limiting their ability to capture dynamic information and achieve high multiplexing capabilities.

This seminar explores the transformative potential of “nanolaser particles.” By leveraging the broad gain bandwidths of III-V semiconductor materials, these nanolaser particles generate ultra-narrowband stimulated emissions (<1 nm), enabling high-throughput combinatorial living cell barcoding on a scale of millions.

Key advancements include: (i) large-scale fabrication of injectable, biocompatible nanolaser particles; (ii) the invention of Laser Particle Stimulated Emission Microscopy (LASE) for super-resolution, real-time in vitro and in vivo cell tracking, as well as spatial transcriptomics of migrating cells; and (iii) the development of the world’s smallest laser (170 nm), achieving the fundamental half-wave size limit and paving the way for molecular-sized laser probes.