Symposium “Light on Life”
Tuesday November 25th , 2025
Room R, Chemistry Department, Ecole Normale Supérieure
24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris
Light has emerged as the trigger of choice to perturb and read-out the state of living cells. This symposium will illustrate how molecular tools making use of light and optical instruments can be used to interrogate cells, organs, and organisms.
Program
9:30-9:35: Introduction, Ludovic Jullien (ENS-SU)
9:35-10:35: « In vivo Imaging probes with tunable chemical switches for monitoring protein location and function« , Prof. Kazuya Kikuchi, Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Division of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan
In vivo imaging is a powerful modality to monitor cell dynamics in biomedical studies. Despite considerable efforts for the development of molecular probes, present imaging methods still have certain limitations to clarify the protein function associated with its localization. Here, a red-fluorescent small molecular probe was developed to reversibly detect the acidic environments and applied it to in vivo two-photon imaging to analyze the function of osteoclast proton pumps. Multicolor two-photon imaging using Red-pHocas in fluorescent reporter mice revealed that bone acidification synchronously occurred occasionally with proton pump accumulation onto the bone surfaces.
10:35-10:50: Coffee break
10:50-11:50: « Smart probes and instrumentation for multidimensional imaging », Prof. Peter Dedecker, Department of Chemistry, University of Leuven, Belgium
In this presentation I will discuss our recent progress on expanding the range of processes that can be probed using fluorescence microscopy, focusing both on new molecular probes, new instrumentation, and new data analysis. In particular, I will present high-resolution imaging of molecular interactions using SOFI-FRET, fast 3D acquisitions using our TriScan and FastScan microscopes, and new ways for multiplexed biosensing based on a detailed understanding of their molecular chemistry.