First name
Alexandra
Last name
Raileanu
Year of Study
Thesis Title
An Electrochemical Detection System for Thiocholine Using Cluster-Assembled Zirconia Modified Gold Electrodes
Thesis Abstract
Rapid, low cost, sensitive and user friendly detection methods for pesticides that
contain organophosphate compounds are important for environmental pollution control.
Even though the current detection methods are very precise, they are meant only for
laboratory use, they require highly trained personnel, are expensive, cumbersome and the
usage of a large number of reactants and chemicals is needed. Nanotechnology combined
with specific enzymes that are influenced by the presence of organophosphates could offer
the alternative of designing specific biosensors that are more suitable for on-site detection.
With this PhD work I intend to approach one of the drawbacks that are commonly found in
designing a platform for portable electrochemical detection systems: a good communication
between the materials that make up a transducer and the biological component which will
interact with the analyte. Cluster-assembled zirconia nanostructured thin films, as a
transducer component, have been optimized for a suitable immobilization of
Acetylcholinesterase enzyme that acts as a catalyst for the breakdown of Acetylcholine.
Moreover, the implementation of zirconia has shown to improve the electron transfer when
used as part of the transducer in electrochemical assessments, which makes it a suitable
candidate for the development of detection platforms for environment monitoring based on
electrochemical techniques.
contain organophosphate compounds are important for environmental pollution control.
Even though the current detection methods are very precise, they are meant only for
laboratory use, they require highly trained personnel, are expensive, cumbersome and the
usage of a large number of reactants and chemicals is needed. Nanotechnology combined
with specific enzymes that are influenced by the presence of organophosphates could offer
the alternative of designing specific biosensors that are more suitable for on-site detection.
With this PhD work I intend to approach one of the drawbacks that are commonly found in
designing a platform for portable electrochemical detection systems: a good communication
between the materials that make up a transducer and the biological component which will
interact with the analyte. Cluster-assembled zirconia nanostructured thin films, as a
transducer component, have been optimized for a suitable immobilization of
Acetylcholinesterase enzyme that acts as a catalyst for the breakdown of Acetylcholine.
Moreover, the implementation of zirconia has shown to improve the electron transfer when
used as part of the transducer in electrochemical assessments, which makes it a suitable
candidate for the development of detection platforms for environment monitoring based on
electrochemical techniques.
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