Project Grant 2232717

This three-year National Science Foundation Project Grant of $375,000 supports research into room-temperature superfluorescence in multi-fluorophore protein cages. The grantee, Trustees of Indiana University, will collaborate with researchers to tease out the mechanism by which viral protein scaffolds promote coupling and synchronization of molecular dyes at room temperature. Approaches will couple experimental spectroscopic and molecular biology manipulations with predictive simulations to examine engineered virus-like particles' structure and emergent dynamics. Proof-of-principle experiments are intended to exploit superradiance and illustrate improved contrast in single-particle analysis applications. Outcomes could inspire future biophotonic technologies providing control over molecular structure-dynamics relationships and improved photonic properties. This award advances the NSF Engineering Directorate's goal of fostering innovation in engineering research areas like this project's examination of spatial scale and symmetry effects on emergent behavior preservation at room temperature.