Bioinformatics technology from ionics to quantum ionics

[ Instrument Network Instrument R & D ] Traditional neural recording technology is based on the conversion of biological information from ionology to electronics. Although it has been widely studied, it has made little progress in the fields of neuroscience and brain science.

Brain science, in the narrow sense, is neuroscience. It is a study conducted to understand the molecular level, cellular level, and intercellular changes in the nervous system, and the integration of these processes in the central function control system. (American Academy of Neuroscience) The broad definition is the science that studies the structure and function of the brain, and also includes cognitive neuroscience.

In 2018, Jiang Lei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a researcher at the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, defined the rapid transmission of ions and molecules in biological channels in a single-chain quantum manner as a "quantum-limited superfluid" (Sci. China. Mater., 2018, 61, 1027). Subsequently, they proposed that the quantum confined superfluid states of ions and molecules are biological information carriers (Nano Res., 2019, 12, 1219).

Because the absorption spectrum of ions and molecules in the quantum-limited superfluid state is in the terahertz range, terahertz light can be used as a tool to achieve non-contact detection of biological signals.

THz waves (terahertz waves) were formally named from the mid-to-late 1980s, before which scientists would collectively refer to them as far-infrared rays. A terahertz wave is an electromagnetic wave with a frequency in the range of 0.1 THz to 10 THz, with a wavelength in the range of 0.03 to 3 mm, between microwave and infrared.

In fact, as early as a hundred years ago, scientists have been involved in this band. In 1896 and 1897, Rubens and Nichols were involved in this band. The infrared spectrum reached 9um (0.009mm) and 20um (0.02mm), and then it was recorded that it reached 50um. In the following hundred years, far infrared technology has achieved many results and has been industrialized. However, there are very few research results and data related to the terahertz band, which is mainly limited by the effective terahertz generation source and sensitive detectors, so this band is also called the THz gap.

Recently, Jiang Lei et al. Proposed two research schemes: one is to use terahertz response to study neural signals in biological systems, and the other is to use terahertz response to study quantum-limited ion ionic superfluids in artificial systems, which are in biological systems Detection of neural signals provides optimized parameters. In their outlook, they pointed out that bioinformatics is based on exchange signals, and by introducing quantum ionology into the field of bioinformatics, it will provide a new technical means for neural signal research, promote the development of neuroscience and brain science, and develop quantum Ionology technology.

Source: Institute of Physical and Chemical Technology