Scanning probe microscopes are learning to run themselves, using artificial intelligence to image living cells without chemical labels. This matters because current nanoscale imaging of living biological samples is slow, requires artificial dyes that can alter cell behaviour, and demands constant human supervision. Researchers cannot easily watch how cells change over time or how drugs interact with living tissue at the molecular level. The SPM4.0 Doctoral Network aims to train a generation of scientists who can build autonomous microscopes that combine scanning probe technology with machine learning. These instruments would capture structural, mechanical, and electrical properties of living cells and functional biomolecules in their natural state, without labels or human intervention. If successful, the technology could transform medical diagnostics and drug development. Researchers might observe how cancer cells respond to treatments in real time, or how drug nanocarriers interact with cell membranes at the nanoscale. The approach could also speed up quality control in nanotechnology manufacturing and metrology. The project is fundamentally about creating the tools and the trained workforce needed to make autonomous nanoscopy routine in life sciences and medicine, rather than delivering a specific medical application itself.
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Artificial Intelligence is pushing forward the Industrial Revolution 4.0, which is transforming many areas of Society, including Science and Technology. Nanoscopy, a recognized pillar of the research and manufacture of Nanotechnology-based products, is among the areas that more quickly is adopting Artificial Intelligence. Machine learning algorithms are being developed and integrated in microscopes for its autonomous operation and in software toolboxes for the automatic analysis of large volumes of microscopy data. Scanning Probe Microscopy is particularly active in this integration with a special focus in the Life Sciences and Medical fields. Scanning probe microscopes powered by machine learning are expected to enable the autonomous and label-free nanoscale structural and functional (mechanical and electric) imaging of living cells and functional biomolecules in their native conditions, something never achieved in nanoscopic imaging. The objective of the SPM4.0 Doctoral Network is to train a new generation of researchers in the science and technology of autonomous Scanning Probe Microscopes powered by Artificial Intelligence for applications in the Life Science and Medical fields. The researchers of the network will acquire a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary scientific training in advanced scanning probe microscopy and machine learning and in their biological and medical applications. In addition, they will receive training on complementary and transferable skills to increase their employability perspectives and to qualify them to access to responsibility job positions in the private and public sectors. The final aim is to promote the wide adoption of SPM4.0 technologies in public and private research centers and in industrial and metrology institutions and to explore new horizons in the Life Sciences and Medical sectors regarding label-free nanoscopic cell imaging, illness diagnosis, or drug nanocarrier development, consolidating Europe as world leader.
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