Temperature measurements are crucial in countless technological developments, accounting for 80% of the sensor market throughout the world. The pitfalls of temperature readouts at the biomedical battleground are mostly represented by the currently achievable spatial resolution. To address key issues, such as intracellular temperature fluctuations and in vivo thermal transients, a technique able to go clearly below 1 ?m is highly and urgently needed, as the traditional contact-based sensors and near infrared thermometers are not suitable for measurements at that tight spatial range. To overcome these limitations requires a non-contact thermometry approach granted with sub-micrometer resolution, also providing real-time high relative thermal sensitivity values.

The goal of NanoTBTech is to develop a 2-D thermal bioimaging technology featuring sub-microscale resolution, based on nanothermometers and heater-thermometer nanostructures. We will design, synthetize, and bio-functionalize nontoxic luminescent nanostructures, operating essentially beyond 1000 nm, for in vivo nanothermometry and nanoheating. Furthermore, to monitor the temperature-dependent nanostructures’ luminescence we will develop a novel imaging system. The effective delivery of that major advance in 2-D thermal bioimaging will be implemented through two impactful biomedical showcases: highly spatially-modulated intracellular magnetic/optical hyperthermia and in vivo detection and tracking of cancer.

In the long-term, we foresee our technology having a broad impact on non-invasive clinical imaging and theranostics. For instance, the accurate measurement of temperature gradients´ sources will be an invaluable tool for real-time control of thermal therapies, thus making them harmless for the patient. Multiple conceptual breakthroughs can be further envisaged from the proposed 2D-thermal imaging system, credibly spreading its impact towards non-biomedical technological areas.

Fundacion Para La Investigacion Biomedica Del Hospital Universitario Ramon Y Cajal (Spain); Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique Cnrs (France); Institut Za Nuklearne Nauke Vinca (Serbia); Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas; (Spain); Instytut Niskich Temperatur I Badan Strukturalnych Im. Wlodzimierza Trzebiatowskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Poland); Universiteit Utrecht (Netherlands); Nanoimmunotech Sl (Spain); Biospace Lab (France)