Chemistry and Biochemistry Departmental Seminar Series

About this event

Speaker: Dr. Robert Lazenby, Florida State University Title: "Multifunctional electrochemical probes using aptamers for chemical sensing and imaging" Abstract: Single-stranded nucleic acid aptamers, also known as synthetic antibodies, are widely used in sensing owing to their high selectivity and the range of detectable target analytes. A major challenge, however, is the fabrication of aptamer-based sensors with sufficiently small dimensions to enable localized, spatially resolved measurements in complex biological environments. In this talk, our efforts to integrate aptamer-based sensing probes with scanning electrochemical techniques to investigate chemical heterogeneity at the single-cell level will be presented. With a focus on probe design and fabrication, we are using self-assembled monolayers of thiolated aptamers on gold nanostructures confined within nanopipettes and on microscale electrode surfaces. These complementary platforms allow real-time monitoring of target analyte concentrations and can be coupled with imaging modalities. By incorporating aptamers into the imaging probes of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), we demonstrate new routes to high spatial resolution specific detection, including for redox inactive species

The Chemistry and Biochemistry Departmental Seminar Series covers a broad range of fields in the Chemical and Biochemical Sciences. In past seminars, scientists from Academia, Government, and Industry have presented their most recent discoveries and contributions in their respective areas. This Seminar Series offers students and faculty the opportunity to interact directly with other leaders in their specializations and to gain a good overview of the entire range of fields in Chemistry and Biochemistry.