Karolien De Wael,
Full Professor,
Antwerp University
Prof. Dr. Karolien De Wael obtained her PhD in Chemistry at Ghent University in 2005 in the field of electrochemistry. In 2011, she was appointed as Research Professor and since 2018 she is full professor at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. She is group leader of the A-Sense Lab at the University of Antwerp (ca 25 members). Our lab is part of the Bioscience Engineering Department and performs fundamental, methodological and application-oriented research involving a wide range of analytical techniques.
Today the demand for ultra-sensitive and selective (on-site/in process) detection systems resounds from the health, food and environmental sector. These systems must be able to detect and quantify target molecules, important in point-of-care testing and for assessing the level of contamination in food, industrial and environmental samples. (Photo)Electrochemistry is an inviting approach for monitoring the presence and concentration of pollutants as these devices are fast, portable and extremely sensitive and selective towards (non)electro-active species. A strategic vision of K. De Wael aims at a portfolio of sensor technologies that can be applied in different markets/sectors embracing the idea of responsible research and innovation.
K. De Wael coordinates the EU BorderSens project. BorderSens offers beyond state of the art solutions to facilitate fast identification of illicit drugs greatly reducing false negative and false positive results. In this lecture, a novel sensing technology for cancer research will be presented. A-Sense Lab is both embedded in the Enviromics consortium (Industrial Research Fund) and Nanolab Center of Excellence within the University of Antwerp.
Singlet Oxygen-Based Photoelectrochemical DNA Sensing
Wednesday, 22 June 2022 at 16:00
Add to Calendar ▼2022-06-22 16:00:002022-06-22 17:00:00Europe/LondonSinglet Oxygen-Based Photoelectrochemical DNA SensingPoint-of-Care, Biosensors and Mobile Diagnostics Europe 2022 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
To avoid the main drawback of semiconductor-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems, i.e. the uncontrollable nature of photo-induced charge or electron transfer processes, a novel and innovative PEC sensing paradigm has been introduced. The sensing paradigm is based on the unique feature of type II molecular photosensitizers to transfer the excitation energy to oxygen generating 1O2. Indeed, the action is initiated by the absorption of a photon to yield an excited sensitizer. Reactions of the excited sensitizer can involve Type I or Type II reactions via intersystem crossing. The latter involves an energy transfer from the excited photosensitizer to O2 to yield 1O2 and is of particular interest for our paradigm. It will be a matter of minimizing or controlling the contribution of Type I reactions in the mechanism through the selection of the photosensitizer or the use of quenchers. The Type II photosensitizers can also be used as molecular labels coupled to specific DNA sequences for highly sensitive and cost-efficient photoelectrochemical DNA sensing applications. In this lecture, the sensing mechanism will be explained together with the photoelectrochemical properties of molecular photosensitizers used as labels for biomolecules. The photocatalytic activity of different photosensitizers in solution and attached to ssDNA have been evaluated in the absence and presence of a redox reporter (hydroquinone). Both type I and type II photosentiziers were studied. In particular, a porphyrin chlorin e6 was found to give a well-detectable photocurrent response in solution or as a label attached to ssDNA. With an intrinsic background elimination by switching the light ON/OFF, this photoelectrochemical strategy provides enhanced sensitivity. The quantification of prostate cancer related miRNAs in human serum will be discussed, and positioned towards electrochemiluminescent assays.
Add to Calendar ▼2022-06-21 00:00:002022-06-22 00:00:00Europe/LondonPoint-of-Care, Biosensors and Mobile Diagnostics Europe 2022Point-of-Care, Biosensors and Mobile Diagnostics Europe 2022 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2022-06-22 16:00:002022-06-22 17:00:00Europe/LondonSinglet Oxygen-Based Photoelectrochemical DNA SensingPoint-of-Care, Biosensors and Mobile Diagnostics Europe 2022 in Rotterdam, The NetherlandsRotterdam, The NetherlandsSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
