Nanosize Device Noninvasively Assesses Cell's Electric Field

A nano-size, organic molecular device that can detect and manipulate its surrounding bioelectric field opens possibilities in biophotonics, specifically in wound healing and in the fight against diseases. The triangle-shaped device is made of two small, connected molecules that, together, are much smaller than a virus and similar in diameter to a DNA strand. A chain of carbon atoms links the two molecules, which each harness their own function. One molecule, called the “reporter,” acts as a sensor, or detector that measures the local electric field when it is triggered by red light. The second molecule, which the researchers called the “modifier,” generates additional electrons when it is exposed to blue...