The trojan gel
About it
Dr Miryam Criado Gonzalez's research group developed smart, light-responsive hydrogels using poly(3-hexylthiophene) semiconductor nanoparticles (P3HT SPNs), which enable on-demand localised production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) for potential redox medicine applications. The result was featured on the Inside front cover in Materials Horizons Volume 12, Issue 8.
Roles: Conceptualisation, Illustration
Client: POLYMAT & ICTP-CSIC
Tools: Photoshop
The Challenge
The study revolves around a system that behaves in two completely different ways depending on light exposure — passive in the dark, cytotoxic under blue LED irradiation. The cover needed to capture that duality in a single image, making the switch between states feel intuitive without oversimplifying the underlying polymer–nanoparticle interactions.
The Process
The composition was built around a dual-scene landscape that splits the same environment into two temporal states. On one side, daylight conditions depict a cloudy, dim setting that symbolises the absence of light activation. Here, tumoral cells colonise the hydrogel matrix undisturbed, represented by a Trojan horse constructed from the gel itself — a metaphor for the deceptive calmness of the material during inactivity. On the other side, turquoise moonlight standing in for blue LED irradiation at 467 nm floods the scene and activates the P3HT SPNs. The nanoparticles fluoresce and generate reactive oxygen species, and the tumour cells are shown retreating and breaking apart under their effect. The Trojan horse ties both halves together as the central symbolic element: benign by day, a vehicle for targeted cytotoxic action by night — mirroring the stealthy therapeutic mechanism of the system. Above the landscape, the P3HT molecular structure appears as a constellation, grounding the scene in the molecular foundation of the work, while the arid desert terrain amplifies the emotional weight of the pathology and its resolution through photodynamic action.