Ultrafaste spectroscopy records the acoustic vibration of the individual virus | Research and technology | February 2025

East Lansing, Michigan, February 25, 2025 – With the help of the ultra -fast spectroscopy, researchers of the Michigan State University (MSU) pursued the vibration movements of individual, unrolled viruses under environmental conditions over the Megahertz (MHz) according to TeraHertz (THZ) Spectralz conditions (THZ) Spectralz -Conditions. Reach.

The methodology of the team, which is known as biosonic spectroscopy, promises an insight into the viral dynamics without the identification and could serve as a means for viral fingerprints. In the future, biosonic spectroscopy could help accelerate the development of antiviral medicines to combat virus infections.

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Professor Elad Harel works with ultra -fast spectroscopy and aims at how microscopic phenomena affect large complex systems. With the kind permission of the Michigan State University.

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In order to observe and examine the “sound” of a virus, the researchers pursued quantized acoustic vibrations in a single virus of less than 100 nm. They put the virus test on a deck hatch and questioned the sample with a few ultras protocol laser impulses in a microscope.

They used a non -resonant pump pulse of less than 100 femtoseconds (FS) at 1040 Nm to excite collective vibrations in the individual virus particle. A second, time -delayed probe impulse of less than 100 FS at 785 Nm was used to capture changes in light scatter, which were induced by the coherent vibrations.

The researchers isolated the weak signal from the large background of the backlit using a balanced detection and an asynchronous optical sampling, a method in which the interpulse delays are quickly scanned in submillary customers up to the laser pulse time in order to reduce laser and environmental noise.

“To initiate the sound, we use short light impulses that create a coherent movement in the system,” said Professor Elad Harel. “We then use a second light pulse to examine this movement at different times in time. By summarizing all snapshots in good time, we can create a molecular film that captures the vibration movement of the object. ”

The team observed long -lasting, coherent oscillations in a single virus that existed for many nanoseconds (NS). These coherent signals created an acoustic spectrum that was highly sensitive to viral morphology, and the interactions between their glycoproteins and the surrounding area and provided insights into the virus mechanics that are not available through other individual particle methods. The temporal resolution was sufficient to examine a single virus particle through its life cycle, which occurs on the time scale of the second hour.

“It is fascinating to experimentally observe the nanoscale movement of this tiny virus particle – they actually breathe under laser lighting,” said researcher Yaqing Zhang.

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A close-up of a beam and splinter cubes among the Harel Group laser struments. Harel can produce a molecular film with short light pulses that catches the vibration movement of a biological object on the basis of its “sound”. With the kind permission of the Michigan State University.

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The team measure acoustic spectra in the virus in the 2 to 50 GHz area with sub-GHz resolution-a very low frequency for optical transitions, considering that visible light is hundreds of THZ. “These are thousands to millions of times lower than what we normally think of in terms of optical spectroscopy,” said Harel.

The researchers used the new spectroscopic method to listen to a virus break. “When the virus opens and becomes weaker, its acoustics changes and becomes lower – almost like an empty balloon,” said Harel.

One of the goals of the team is to develop a spectroscopic approach that can achieve the dissolution of electron microscopy (EM) for living systems. “Electron microscopy or it is very powerful, but they really make snapshots of life, and they do this in an environment that is very different from what they find in living organisms,” said Harel. “EM takes place in vacuum, and with Kryo-European Championship at very low temperatures, in which life cannot be maintained.”

The team also hopes that the biosonic approach can be used as a powerful image probe without the identification. “One of our goals is to show that this new methodology could use the natural labeling of a virus or molecule – basically the sound of its own materials that distinguish it from everything else in one system,” said Harel.

The next step for the researchers is to show that biosonic spectroscopy can be used to dynamically pursue how a virus moves. “If we want to see that a virus is now going into a cell, the process is very, very challenging and slowly using electron microscopy or the use of a complex fluorescence marking,” said Harel.

The sensitivity, high resolution and speed of this approach could increase the understanding of biological dynamics and diagnostics in the early stages at the level of the individual microorganisms.

“I am confident that this technology can be widespread for millions of viruses and other biological samples and that they will receive more invaluable information,” said Zhang. “The more we know it, the better we can prepare for the next pandemic.”

Research was published in the Procedure of the National Academy of Sciences (www.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2420428122).