The Power of Glowing Color

Stacy Copp's lab is using glowing light and color to see deep inside human tissues which could replace the need for X-rays. Listen to Copp, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, share her inspirations and ground breaking work at her UCI lab.

Transcript:

[Sci fi music]

[Sound of lab machine automated spectrometer chirping]

STACY COPP: This is an automated spectrometer.

NATALIE TSO, HOST: Stacy Copp’s lab at UC Irvine’s engineering school is on the cutting edge of using the power of light and color to see deep inside human tissues - which could replace the need for X rays.  She’s an associate professor of materials science and engineering. Her fascination with light began as a child.

COPP: I found it really exciting to sit in the closet with a flashlight or to look at a rainbow being cast from a piece of glass.

TSO: In college, she had a life changing look under a microscope of a sample of little beads loaded with fluorescent dye.

COPP: I remember the moment that they came into focus and they were there twinkling and  they were glowing yellow. And I remember thinking at that moment, this is my universe under this microscope.

TSO: That lit her path as a scientist. Years later she discovered she has a heightened ability to see and distinguish color - which explains a lot.

COPP: I just find the things that glow so fascinating. I think it's some kind of innate love that I have. That color is just really vivid to me.

TSO: Now she leads a lab that is developing ways to use color for bioimaging.

COPP: We make glowing nanoclusters that are wrapped up in DNA, and DNA molecule is the code for this cluster. It determines the color that it glows. So our goal is to figure out what DNA sequence do we need to get that color, whether it's this near-infrared color of glow that can be used for deep tissue, biomedical imaging, or whether it's a visible green blue red glow that can be used for different types of photonic applications.

[Sound of lab machine automated spectrometer chirping]

TSO: The lab uses this chirping automated spectrometer to measure wavelengths of light emitted by nanoscale materials which are about 10 million times smaller than a blueberry.

COPP: Inside of this box is a well plate that has 384 different holes. Each hole contains a different sample of DNA stabilized silver clusters with its own unique color of glow. We collect large data libraries using this tool and then train machine learning models that guide the design of DNA molecules that are well-suited for fluorescent nanoclusters.

TSO: Copp is designing silver nanoclusters which contain only 10 to 30 silver atoms. She wants to make them glow in the near infrared.

COPP: This is really exciting for biomedical imaging because our bodies and tissues are far more transparent to near infrared light than to visible light. So if we had very brightly glowing near infrared dyes, those could be used as medical contrast agents for using non-hazardous near-infrared light for biological imaging instead of something like X-rays or an MRI machine.

[sci fi music]

TSO: Unlike X-rays which use ionizing radiation that can damage cells, her infrared nanoclusters could offer a safer way to do bioimaging and to track cancer

COPP: These types of brightly emitting near infrared dyes can be used to study cellular processes that happen on micron scales but inherently happen deep inside of tissues. At the moment we don’t have good ways to visualize those like we do for single cells on a petri dish where they’re just laying there. But if we had near infrared dyes with which we could label and track their molecules and cells, then perhaps we could do that type of imaging inside tissues so we could better understand biological processes. It’s also possible that these near infrared emitters could be added as contrast agents in order to label and track things like tumors or other types of tissues that are relevant for human disease.

TSO: Copp’s lab could enable major medical breakthroughs and it all started with her enchantment with the rainbow.

COPP: I honestly believe that basically every child is born as a scientist. They’re all just so interested in how the world works. They’re always asking questions. They always want answers to those questions.

TSO: Sometimes those little scientists grow up to create light we can’t even see – that could  save countless lives.  That’s what’s going on at Stacy Copp’s lab at UC Irvine.

The Lab Beat is brought to you by the UCI Samueli school of engineering, and I’m Natalie Tso. If you like our podcast, please share and leave a review. Thanks and I’ll see you at the next lab.

(Season 1, Episode 6)

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is an automated spectrometer.
Stacy Copp's lab at UCIrvine's engineering
school is on the cutting edgeof using the power of light and color
to see deep inside human tissues,which could replace the need for X-rays.
She's an associate professor of materialsscience and engineering professor.
Her fascination with light beganas a child.

(00:23):
I found it really excitingto sit in the closet with the flashlight
or to look at a rainbow being castfrom a piece of glass.
In college, she had a life changinglook under a microscope
of a sample of little beadsloaded with fluorescent dye.
I remember the moment that they came intofocus and they were there twinkling.
They were glowing yellow.

(00:44):
And I remember thinking at that moment,this is my universe under this microscope.
That lit her path as a scientist.
Years later, she discoveredshe has a heightened ability
to see and distinguish color,which explains a lot.
I just find thingsthat glow so fascinating.
I think it's some kind of innate lovethat I have.

(01:04):
That color is just really vivid to me.
Now she leads a lab that is developingways to use color for bioimaging.
We make glowing nanoclustersthat are wrapped up in DNA,
and the DNA moleculeis the code for this cluster.
It determines the color that it glows.
So our goal is to figure out whatDNA sequence do we need to get that color,

(01:28):
whether it's this near-infrared colorof glow that could be used for deep tissue
biomedical imaging or whether it'sa visible green blue red glow
that can be used for different typesof photonic applications.
The lab usesthis chirping automated spectrometer
to measure wavelengths of lightemitted by nanoscale materials,

(01:50):
which are about 10 million timessmaller than a blueberry.
Inside of this box is a well platethat has 384 different holes.
Each hole contains a different sample
of DNA stabilized silver clusterswith its own unique color of glow.
We collect large data librariesusing this tool, then train machine
learning modelsthat guide the design of DNA molecules

(02:12):
that are well-suited for fluorescentnano clusters.
Copp is designing silver nanoclusters,which contain only 10 to 30 silver atoms.
She wants to make them glowin the near infrared.
This is really excitingfor biomedical imaging because our bodies
and tissues are far more transparent tonear-infrared light than to visible light.
So if we had very brightlyglowing near infrared dyes,

(02:36):
those could be used as medical contrastagents for using non-hazardous
near infrared light for biological imaginginstead of something like X-rays
or an MRI machine.
Unlike X-rays,which use ionizing radiation
that can damage cells,her infrared nanoclusters
could offer a safer way to do bioimagingand to track cancer.

(02:56):
These types of brightlyemitting near-infrared dyes
can be used to study cellular processes
that happen on micron scales,
but inherently happendeep inside of tissues.
At the moment we don't have good waysto visualize those like
we do for single cells on a petri dishwhere they're just laying there.

(03:16):
But if we had near infrared emitting dyeswith which
we could labeland track the molecules in the cell,
then perhaps we could do thattype of imaging inside tissues
so we could better understandbiological processes.
It's also possible that these nearinfrared emitters could be added
as contrast agentsin order to label and track things

(03:36):
like tumors or other types of tissuesthat are relevant for human disease.
Copp’s Lab could enable majormedical breakthroughs,
and it all started with her enchantmentwith the rainbow.
I honestly believe that basicallyevery child is born as a scientist.
They're all just so interestedin how the world works.
They're always asking questions.

(03:57):
They always want answersto those questions.
Sometimes those little scientistsgrow up to create light we can’t even see
that could save countless lives.
That's what's going on at StacyCopp's lab at UC Irvine.
The Lab Beat is brought to youby the UCI Samueli School of Engineering,
and I'm Natalie Tso.
If you like our podcast,please share and leave a review.

(04:18):
Thanks and I'll see you at the next lab.