BMSE Seminar: "Nanoelectrochemisty: From nanoparticles to single cell"

Speaker

Prof. Lior Sepunaru, UCSB Chemistry and Biochemistry

Date and Location

Wednesday November 01, 2017 11:00am to 12:00pm
1601 Elings Hall

Abstract

Recently a new state of the art nano-electrochemical technique has been emerged. This technique (‘nano-impacts’) allows in vitro detection of single nanoparticle together with fast characterization of the nanoparticles size and concentration. We further exploit this method and show that a single virus and bacteria ‘tagged’ with silver nanoparticles can be rapidly detected in real time at the single entity level. A solution containing low concentration of influenza virus or bacteria is exposed to silver nanoparticles which adsorb on their surface as revealed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. From time to time, the virus or bacteria in the solution collide with a micrometer size electrode. If a sufficient potential is applied to the electrode, stochastic current spikes are observed which correspond to the oxidation of the nanoparticles decorating the virus or bacteria. The frequency of the current spikes and its magnitude are linearly proportional to the virus and bacteria concentration and to the surface coverage of the nanoparticles, respectively. A general overview for the practical uses of this technique for new biosensors generation will be given together with the feasibility of single enzyme electrochemical detection.