Nanosensing and molecular diagnostics

Modern medicine, environmental monitoring, and food safety require rapid and accessible methods for detecting biological marker molecules, including nucleic acids, proteins, and other clinically relevant compounds. Such technologies are essential for diagnosing infections, assessing patient health, and ensuring the safety and quality of food products.

The laboratory combines molecular recognition using DNA-based constructs with nanomaterials, optical detection methods, microfluidic technologies, and digital data processing based on computer vision. Its research focuses on two main areas.

The first area focuses on the development of compact point-of-care systems for rapid diagnostics using nanomaterials. This includes the development of optical and colorimetric sensors based on optically resonant nanoparticles, with potential applications such as the early detection of sepsis biomarkers.

The second area focuses on developing DNA-based constructs for nucleic acid detection with applications across molecular diagnostics. One of the key objectives is to create systems for the rapid detection of infectious pathogens, including applications in food safety and quality control.

Another objective is to develop methods that extend the capabilities of conventional diagnostic approaches. PCR offers high sensitivity but has limitations when it comes to detecting single-nucleotide substitutions. DNA-based sensor structures can overcome these limitations by generating an optical signal through highly specific interactions with a target sequence. This approach shows promise for detecting genetic variants of pathogens and mutations associated with antibiotic resistance.

Overall, the laboratory develops biosensing and diagnostic platforms for the detection of clinically relevant biomarkers, pathogens, and genetic variants.