Dynamic changes in molecular levels and distribution are associated with all life processes and importantly regulate key decision-making events in biology. Thus, spatiotemporal dynamics of small molecules and ions are central to biological function ranging all the way from the essential, encompassing cell-signaling, transport, immunity, and recycling, to most pathophysiological conditions including cancers, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. In this backdrop, the ability to catch molecules of life in action using optical imaging modalities is extremely powerful, enabling visualization of the spatial organization and temporal dynamics of molecules within living systems. Central to scientific endeavors in visualizing molecules in action toward deciphering life processes are chemical probes that can non-invasively enter living systems and report on molecular localization in an optical imaging set-up. My research group works on the development of rapid-responsive optical probes and sensors for temporal-tracking, quantification, and imaging of bio-molecules within living systems. Our unique selling point lies in strategically combining fundamental insights from coordination chemistry and molecular recognition along with computations to design novel small-molecule and peptide-based sensors. In this talk, I will highlight our endeavors in chemical sensor development for imaging and tracking essential metal ions¹ and signal mediating lipids^{2, 3} in living cells. Finally, I will touch upon our recent efforts toward live multiplexed imaging of bio-analytes.^4,5

<sub>1. Kahali, S.; Das, S. K.; Datta, A., et al. Chemical Science 2024, 15, 10753.
2. Kundu, R.; Datta, A., et al. bioRxiv 2024, 2024.06.17.599302.
3. Kundu, R.; Datta, A., et al. JACS Au 2024, 4, 1004.
4. Kahali, S.; Datta, A., et al. JACS Au 2025, 5, 343.
5. Das, S. K.; Kahali, S.; Datta, A., et al. ChemBioChem 2024, 25, e202400538.</sub>

Dr. Ankona Datta Associate Professor Department of Chemical Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai, India +91-22-2278-2078 ankona[AT]tifr.res.in https://www.tifr.res.in/~ankona/

Biography

Ankona Datta received her B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 2000. She did her Ph.D. on chiral water-soluble porphyrins for catalysis and molecular recognition with Prof. John T. Groves at Princeton University (2006). After graduating from Princeton, she joined as a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratory of Prof. Ken Raymond at the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked on macromolecular MRI contrast agents. Since 2010 she is a faculty in the Department of Chemical Sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India. Her current research interests are in the fields of Chemical Biology and Molecular Imaging.