Young VU Physics Faculty Scientists Contribute to Research Opening New Photopharmacology Possibilities

Manvydas Dapkevičius ir Justas Lekavičius. Photo from a personal archive.

Scientists from Vilnius University’s (VU) Physics Faculty, led by Dr Karolis Kazlauskas, have contributed to an international study published in the prestigious journal “Nature Communications”. Cooperating with colleagues from Barcelona, Spain, and other countries, they demonstrated a non-invasive optical method for controlling the heart rhythms of tadpoles. The breakthrough is expected to open new possibilities in photopharmacology – a field of science that uses light to control biological processes.

Importance of Lithuanian Connections

The idea for the groundbreaking research originated with researchers at the Institute of Materials Science in Barcelona. As the project gained momentum, they needed specialists to study new photosensitizers – molecules capable of absorbing near-infrared (NIR) light, generating long-lived triplet states, and transferring the energy they accumulate to other functional molecules.

During this process, the idea was to use photosensitizers to control reversible photoisomerisation reactions. These occur in modified azobenzene organic compounds, which are known for their distinctive light response. What makes them even more special is that during photoisomerisation – when a molecule changes its structure under light exposure – they become chemically and biologically active.

As it happened, Lukas Naimovičius, a student from Dr Kazlauskas’s group, was doing an internship in Barcelona at that time. He reached out to his team back in Lithuania, initiating this international collaboration.

“Prior to that, we’ve worked together on multiple projects and published several papers. In this particular case, we were invited to contribute our expertise by performing specific photophysical measurements to evaluate the properties of new photosensitizers and their suitability for photopharmacological applications,” says master’s student Justas Lekavičius, one of the article’s authors.

His colleague, doctoral student Manvydas Dapkevičius, notes that the research team was highly international. Co-authors came from Japan, the USA, Spain, Turkey, and Sweden. This global scope added a special dimension to the entire process.

“The research was coordinated by colleagues from Catalonia’s Institute of Materials Science in Barcelona. Our main task was to understand the mechanism of photosensitised isomerisation. The work involved intensive collaboration – for example, we received the molecular compounds that undergo isomerisation from Japan, while Turkish scientists created one of the sensitisers we used,” he recalls.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

The research stood out not only for its international scope but also for its interdisciplinary nature. It brought together physicists, chemists, biologists, and bioengineers. The researchers admit that people in these disciplines often “speak different languages,” so one of the most interesting challenges was finding a common vocabulary.

“There’s a certain distance between us that we’re working to bridge. We primarily communicate with chemists because we require specific compounds with desired properties from them. However, we mainly care about function, while chemists also think about structure – after all, it is them who have to synthesise such molecules,” says Lekavičius.

Interestingly, the project evolved and expanded significantly over time, with more scientists joining. Initially, the goal was to verify whether light radiation could actually affect the compounds being studied. However, after observing successful fundamental results, colleagues in Barcelona decided to expand the research scope and demonstrate its practical applications, thereby giving the project even greater scientific and practical significance.

“At first, we didn’t even plan for the project to reach such a broad scale. But everything went well, and when biologists joined the research, they conducted experiments with tadpoles. In all, the research started two years ago, and our work took several months, during which there were many unsuccessful attempts,” says Dapkevičius.

The results obtained by physicists were used in the second part of the work to show that photosensitised isomerisation can modulate a living organism’s heart rhythm. This was done using a new modified azobenzene compound capable of affecting heart activity. The methodology was successfully validated in tadpole experiments.

The scientists emphasise that the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology (FNI) conducts a wide range of research. A significant portion of it isn’t related to the life sciences, so the opportunity to engage with this field through their work added a special charm and a new experience.

“Usually, our research seeks to answer fundamental questions – what is a compound’s emission quantum yield, how does energy transfer occur in organic compounds, or how can light change their chemical structures. These properties are rarely studied in biological systems, so it was exciting to find a direct connection with living organisms,” says Lekavičius.

A Reminder to Be Ambitious

The research with Barcelona colleagues isn’t the first for FNI scientists, and it certainly won’t be the last, as international collaboration has become an integral part of modern science.

“One of the main drivers of such collaboration is students who go abroad for internships. This research is a clear example of that. It’s very gratifying to contribute to such initiatives because working with colleagues from various fields gives you a real sense of scientific community. It’s an extraordinary opportunity to get involved in incredibly interesting topics,” says Lekavičius. Both he and Dapkevičius are just beginning their scientific careers.

According to them, being a part of such an experience is incredibly motivating and inspiring for reaching higher goals. They also urge others not to be afraid to pursue what might seem impossible at first glance.

“It’s good to know that publishing in a high-level journal isn’t such an impossible mission after all. It adds self-confidence. Foreign colleagues often note that VU scientists sometimes aim too low. We need to be more ambitious and bolder,” Dapkevičius is convinced.

The research was conducted as part of the Republic of Lithuania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Sports “University Excellence Initiative” program, under an agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (No. S-A-UEI-23-6).