Seminars
Thermometry in plasmonic systems and in vivo monitoring of neuronal processes in Drosophila: two new optics laboratories in Argentina
The scientist Julián Gargiulo gave a seminar in which he described two of his lines of research.
Julián Gargiulo, PhD in physics and researcher at the UNSAM Institute of Nanosystems - CONICET, visited the Center for Research in Bionanosciences (CIBION) on June 16 to give a seminar.
During his presentation, the scientist referred to two lines of his research. The first one has to do with the development of Anti-Stokes nanothermometry for metallic nanoparticles (NP). This concept serves to measure the temperature of individual NPs. Anti-Stokes nanothermometry is a non-invasive technique that does not require prior calibration and is compatible with in situ measurements. Due to their surface plasmonic resonances, metallic NPs strongly interact with light, and function as antennas that concentrate the energy of the incident light in nanometer regions, which has given rise to numerous applications.
Since part of the energy is confined within the metal, the use of plasmonic NPs always has associated losses, which is why they generate heat. However, quantifying the heat produced remains an open challenge that hinders progress in many applications. Gargiulo referred to the latest developments in the technique and the efforts to install this line of research in the new Academic Development Tower of UNSAM.
The second line of research is the construction of a single objective light sheet fluorescence microscope (SOLS) for the study of dynamic changes in the morphology of neuronal processes in Drosophila in alive. The scientist stated that in all animals, the daily rhythms of activity and rest are regulated by a circadian system. A particular group of neurons known as lateral ventral neurons (s-LNvs) plays a critical role in generating these rhythms. Previous studies showed morphological changes of these neurons throughout the day, indicating circadian structural plasticity. However, these studies were performed using fluorescence confocal microscopy techniques in fixed brains, which restricts the ability to observe this process dynamically, he explained. Thus, he introduced the operating principles of the SOLS technique, which would make it possible to overcome the limitations of confocal microscopy and monitor structural remodeling in a single live fly. In addition, he recounted the advances in the construction of said microscope in the Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics of the Leloir Institute Foundation.
About the speaker
- Julián Gargiulo is a PhD in Physics (UBA) with a workplace at CIBION, directed by Fernando Stefani.
- Between 2017 and 2019, he was a Marie Curie Fellow at Imperial College London in the UK and LMU in Munich, Germany.
- From 2020 to 2021, he was a DAAD-PRIME fellow with a shared workplace between LMU and CIBION.
- Since November 2022, he is a CONICET Assistant Researcher at the UNSAM Institute of Nanosystems.