A research team at Università degli Studi Roma Tre has shown that quantum light can be used to track enzyme reactions in real time. The researchers developed a setup that allowed them to control the light at the level of a single photon. This made it possible to use low illumination without disrupting the enzymes, with the potential to achieve improved sensitivity.
The capability to address the sample directly allowed dynamic tracking with higher resolution. The team used this new technique to track changes in the chirality (the ability of a given molecule to rotate the polarization of light) of a sucrose solution due to activity of an enzyme known as invertase.
Control of the probe at the quantum level demonstrated the potential for reducing invasiveness while optimizing sensitivity at the same time. (Photonics.com)
