Squid Proteins to Enable a Biohybrid Optical Device

Advances in molecular, medical, and nanotechnologies are now enabling the design of sensors that bridge the biotic–abiotic interface. At UCSB, recent work has shown that the conformational structure of reflectin—the protein that tunes the color of the California squid (Doryteuthis opalescens) for camouflage and communication—can be precisely modulated with less than a volt of electricity. This project attempts to integrate reflectin’s tunable mechanism into a sensing device with measurable optical output. Based on AI structural predictions, modification and tagging of reflectin with fluorescent probes enabled me to create a FRET (Forster Resonance Energy Transfer)-based system with maximal signal-to-noise ratio. When integrated with a signal-amplifying metasurface, this concept should lay the framework for the first voltage-tunable, protein-based multicolor display, ultimately advancing our understanding of how to interface optoelectronics with complex nanoscale biological mechanisms.