Imaging and controlling electron motion and chemical structural dynamics of biological system in real time and space

Imaging and controlling electron motion and chemical structural dynamics of biological system in real time and space | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Imaging and controlling electron motion and chemical structural dynamics of biological system in real time and space Mohammed Hassan, Ligong Zhao, Mohamed Sennary, Dina Hussein, Anaísa Coelho, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7652686/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ultrafast electron microscopy (UEM) has found widespread applications in physics, chemistry, and materials science, enabling real-space imaging of dynamics on ultrafast timescales. Recent advances have pushed the temporal resolution of UEM into the attosecond regime, giving rise to attomicroscopy—a technique capable of directly visualizing electron motion. In this work, we extend the capabilities of this powerful imaging tool to investigate ultrafast electron dynamics in a biological system by imaging and controlling light-induced electronic and chemical changes in the conductive network of multicellular cable bacteria. Using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), we first observed a laser-induced increase in π-electron density, accompanied by spectral peak broadening and a blueshift—features indicative of enhanced conductivity and structural modification. We also traced the effect of ultrafast laser pumping on bulk plasmon electron oscillations by monitoring changes in the plasmon-like resonance peak. Additionally, we visualized laser-induced chemical structural changes in cable bacteria in real space. The imaging results revealed carbon enrichment alongside a depletion of nitrogen and oxygen, highlighting the controllability of chemical dynamics. Moreover, time-resolved EELS measurements further showed a picosecond-scale decay and recovery of both π-electron and plasmonic features, attributed to electron–phonon coupling. In addition to shedding light on the mechanism of electron motion in cable bacteria, these findings demonstrate ultrafast modulation and switching of conductivity, underscoring their potential as bio-optoelectronic components operating on ultrafast timescales. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures/Biomaterials/Bioinspired materials Physical sciences/Materials science/Biomaterials Physical sciences/Chemistry/Biochemistry/Structural biology/Electron microscopy Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7652686","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":523737030,"identity":"780c52b1-bacb-4de9-92c7-7ecc6de0c2fe","order_by":0,"name":"Mohammed 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Recent advances have pushed the temporal resolution of UEM into the attosecond regime, giving rise to attomicroscopy—a technique capable of directly visualizing electron motion. In this work, we extend the capabilities of this powerful imaging tool to investigate ultrafast electron dynamics in a biological system by imaging and controlling light-induced electronic and chemical changes in the conductive network of multicellular cable bacteria. Using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), we first observed a laser-induced increase in π-electron density, accompanied by spectral peak broadening and a blueshift—features indicative of enhanced conductivity and structural modification. We also traced the effect of ultrafast laser pumping on bulk plasmon electron oscillations by monitoring changes in the plasmon-like resonance peak. Additionally, we visualized laser-induced chemical structural changes in cable bacteria in real space. The imaging results revealed carbon enrichment alongside a depletion of nitrogen and oxygen, highlighting the controllability of chemical dynamics. Moreover, time-resolved EELS measurements further showed a picosecond-scale decay and recovery of both π-electron and plasmonic features, attributed to electron–phonon coupling. 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