Mouzhe Xie
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Mail code: 1604Campus: Tempe
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Mouzhe Xie joined the School of Molecular Sciences in January 2024 as an Assistant Professor. He is also a thesis faculty member of the Department of Physics and a steering committee member of the Quantum Sensing and Metrology division of the Quantum Collaborative.
Mouzhe received a bachelor's degree in Chemical Biology from Xiamen University, China, in 2013. From 2013 to 2018, Mouzhe conducted doctoral research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The Ohio State University, under the advisory of Prof. Rafael Brüschweiler. Availing himself of the Campus Chemical Instrument Center - NMR facility (now the National Gateway Ultrahigh Field NMR Center), he developed and applied NMR spectroscopy and spin control techniques to investigate topics ranging from biophysics, protein dynamics, structural biology, and metabolomics. From 2019 to 2023, Mouzhe did his postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Peter Maurer, first at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and later moved to the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. During this time, he expanded his expertise in NMR and biophysics to develop diamond-based quantum sensing technology for chemical and biological applications, as well as worked extensively on diamond material engineering. The integration of these technologies leads to novel sensing platforms for molecular analytics, drug discovery, and disease diagnosis, and ultimately reshape the landscape of health care for the better.
- PhD. The Ohio State University, 2013-2018
- B.S. Xiamen University, 2009-2013
In the Experimental Quantum BioSensing (EQuBS) laboratory led by Prof. Mouzhe Xie, our primary research focus is to develop novel quantum sensing technologies and apply them to better understand chemical reactions and biological processes. A leading sensor platform is the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond crystal, which serves as a quantum bit (or "qubit"). The preparation and manipulation of the NV qubit is achieved through an interplay of laser and microwave. Unlike other qubit systems that requires stringent experimental conditions, the NV qubit possesses micro- to milli-second long coherence at room temperature and ambient environment, making them readily applicable to investigate biological systems at molecular level.
The NV-based quantum sensor is exquisitely sensitive to several physical quantities, such as magnetic field, temperature, and crystal strain. It enables various powerful detection schemes to investigate samples of interest, including optical relaxometry, double electron-electron resonance (DEER), and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). Moreover, because of the high sensitivity, the NV-based quantum sensor can detect the magnetic field fluctuations generated by single molecules and has been used to perform nanoscale NMR experiments. The NV-based quantum sensing and metrology is a burgeoning research field with lots of unknowns, and of course, opportunities.
Our research combines chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, and material science, and is multidisciplinary by nature. For example, we create high-quality NV-doped diamond material, and build laser microscopes and microwave antennas to control the spin dynamics of the NV qubit following a fundamental understand of its quantum properties. We chemically functionalize diamond surfaces and place molecules or cells on top for their detection. We also nanofabricate microchips and flow channels for integrated biological sample delivery. Conventional NMR, AFM, light and electron microscopy, X-ray, single-molecule techniques, and molecular biology tools are frequently used to help us understand biological systems better, with a goal of deciphering molecular interactions and cellular processes, and ultimately improve human health.
X. Guo, M. Xie†, A. Addhya†, A. Linder†, U. Zvi, Y. Liu, I. N. Hammock, C. T. DeVault, Z. Li, A. Butcher, A. P. Esser-Kahn, D. D. Awschalom, N. Delegan, P. C. Maurer, F. J. Heremans, A. A. High. “Direct-bonded diamond membranes for heterogeneous quantum and electronic technologies”. Submitted, 2023. arXiv:2306.04408
M. Xie†, X. Yu†, L. V. H. Rodgers, D. Xu, I. Chi-Durán, A. Toros, N. Quack, N. P. de Leon, P. C. Maurer. “Biocompatible surface functionalization architecture for a diamond quantum sensor”. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2022, 119, e2114186119.
S. Wardenfelt†, X. Xiang†, M. Xie†, L. Yu, L. Bruschweiler-Li & R. Brüschweiler. “Broadband dynamics of ubiquitin by anionic and cationic nanoparticle-assisted NMR spin relaxation” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2021, 60, 148.
M. Xie & R. Brüschweiler. “Degree of N-methylation of nucleosides and metabolites controls binding affinity to pristine silica surfaces” J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2020, 11, 10401.
M. Xie†, L. Yu†, L. Bruschweiler-Li, X. Xiang, A.L. Hansen & R. Brüschweiler. “Functional protein dynamics on uncharted timescales detected by nanoparticle-assisted NMR spin relaxation” Sci. Adv., 2019, 5, eaax5560.