Funded PhD at Université Paris Cité : Probing bioenergetics at single mitochondria by AFM-SECM microscopy

The goal of this doctoral project is to study bioenergetics activities at the scale of single organelles, the mitochondria, by using an ultra-sensitive electrochemical nano-imaging technique. 

Mitochondria are the "energy powerhouses” of living cells, synthesizing the chemical bioenergy fuel, ATP, under coupling with the activity of the enzymatic respiratory chain. Studying the efficiency of electron transport within the chain, via the oxidation of various coenzymes (NADH, quinone, cytochrome-c) with O2 as the final acceptor, provides information about the bioenergetics functioning of mitochondria in physio and pathological conditions. In this project, individual mitochondria will be functionally imaged, under different respiratory, redox and metabolic states, using the ultra-resolved and dual atomic force-electrochemical nanoscopy (AFMSECM). This imaging technique is currently the only one capable of constructing a topographical image of a single living mitochondrion while simultaneously mapping its redox reactivity, at an unprecedented sub-particle scale.

Keywords. Nano-bioelectrochemistry, AFM-SECM imaging, mitochondria, respiratory chain