Development of Microbial Analysis – Faster Detection and Business Opportunities

FMA Fast Microbial Analysis project was funded by TEKES, decision numbers 40173/13, 40174/13 and 40175/13Foodborne diseases represent a serious public health issue. For example in the USA it is estimated that the total economic impact is $50 to$80 billion annually in health care costs, lost productivity, and diminished quality of life (Byrd-Bredbenner et al. 2013). For this reason, food safety authorities around the world have realized the need for a strict regulatory framework, including an exhaustive food testing regime. In the European Union (EU) the Comission regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs has been established for food pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes. According to the regulation the manufactures and other food business operators are responsible for the production and delivery of safe food. The follow up will be carried out by self-monitoring methods. Conventional methods are often sensitive, but extremely time-consuming. Depending on the target microorganism, it may take from several days to over two weeks to obtain a fully confirmed positive test result (Velusamy et al. 2010). In present food business this timescale is too long. Because of that Fast Microbe Analysis (FMA) solution was developed in this project. The target of microbiological part of the study was to shorten the lag phase time in L. monocytogenes enrichment procedure and determine the selectivity of growth media combined with IMS. It was clearly seen that it is really difficult to make remarkable improvements in shortening the lag phase time. The selectivity of growth media combined with immunomagnetic separation concluded that, the developed method is applicable in Listeria spp. detection, but not specific for L. monocytogenes detection. By combining surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) detection with the sample concentration the detection limit of 104 CFU/ml was obtained. SERS was based on the hybrid nanoparticle and corrugated substrate configuration, while immunomagnetic bead separation and hydrophobic surfaces were utilized to concentrate samples. Business research in FMA project included indetification of market opportunities for developed FMA solution, identification of the food safety business ecosystem and the related possible ecosystem business model for the developed solution. Business opportunities for FMA solution in other industries were also analyzed.201

Photonic sensors

This invited featured paper offers a Doctrinal Conception of sensing using Light (SuL) as an “umbrella” in which any sensing approach using Light Sciences and Technologies can be easily included. The key requirements of a sensing system will be quickly introduced by using a bottom-up methodology. Thanks to this, it will be possible to get a general conception of a sensor using Light techniques and know some related issues, such as its main constituted parts and types. The case in which smartness is conferred to the device is also considered. A quick “flight” over 10 significant cases using different principles, techniques, and technologies to detect diverse measurands in various sector applications is offered to illustrate this general concept. After reading this paper, any sensing approach using Light Sciences and Technologies may be easily included under the umbrella: sensing using Light or photonic sensors (PS).This work has been supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Grant PID2019-107270RB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and also TeDFeS Project (grant RTC-2017-6321-1) co-funded by European FEDER funds ( as a way of making Europe)

Nanoscale Au-ZnO heterostructure developed by atomic layer deposition towards amperometric H2O2 detection

Nanoscale Au-ZnO heterostructures were fabricated on 4-in. SiO2/Si wafers by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Developed Au-ZnO heterostructures after post-deposition annealing at 250 degrees C were tested for amperometric hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) detection. The surface morphology and nanostructure of Au-ZnO heterostructures were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. Additionally, the electrochemical behavior of Au-ZnO heterostructures towards H2O2 sensing under various conditions is assessed by chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that ALD-fabricated Au-ZnO heterostructures exhibited one of the highest sensitivities of 0.53 mu A mu M(-1)cm(-2), the widest linear H2O2 detection range of 1.0 mu M-120mM, a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.78 mu M, excellent selectivity under the normal operation conditions, and great long-term stability. Utilization of the ALD deposition method opens up a unique opportunity for the improvement of the various capabilities of the devices based on Au-ZnO heterostructures for amperometric detection of different chemicals

Graphene optical and microwave molecular sensing platforms

The unique electronic and physical structure of graphene is highly sensitive to its surroundings, producing a promising candidate for future sensor technologies. However, graphene responds equally to perturbations at both sides of its interface, such that tuning the chemical potential of the substrate at the graphene-solid interface impacts the sensor response at the graphene-gas/liquid interface. In this work, two distinct non-contact graphene sensing platforms are studied under various ambient conditions to assess their propensity towards molecular sensing. The different spectral enhancement mechanisms of graphene surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy platforms are studied through interfacing graphene to differently treated gold nanodisc substrates. Using statistical Raman analysis, the influence of the chemical enhancement mechanism with respect to the graphene Raman peaks is assessed. Moreover, Kelvin force microscopy shows that the locally enhanced electromagnetic field can induce surface chemical reactions which are dependent upon the sensor environment. Explicitly, laser illumination in an air/nitrogen ambient, p-/n-dopes the graphene sheet by -0.87 0.05 meV/ +0.75 0.07 meV. By measuring the change of resistivity of graphene upon gas adsorption using a microwave dielectric resonator, a contactless non-invasive gas sensing platform is demonstrated. This large area graphene measurement platform allows evaluation of the real time sorption processes of NO2 with graphene. Using a modified Langmuir adsorption model, the sticking coefficient is exponentially dependent upon NO2 occupancy. Consequently, the possible variation of the NO2 binding energy, which is frequently considered as the main parameter, plays only a secondary role compared to the rising adsorption energy barrier with increasing NO2 coverage. Finally, through preliminary temperature and electrical gating measurements the charge transfer affinity of graphene based NO2 sensors is explored. Interestingly, the sensor response can be hindered and/or enhanced by back gate control of the doping in graphene.Open Acces

Sensing using light: a key area of sensors

This invited featured paper offers a Doctrinal Conception of sensing using Light (SuL) as an "umbrella" in which any sensing approach using Light Sciences and Technologies can be easily included. The key requirements of a sensing system will be quickly introduced by using a bottom-up methodology. Thanks to this, it will be possible to get a general conception of a sensor using Light techniques and know some related issues, such as its main constituted parts and types. The case in which smartness is conferred to the device is also considered. A quick "flight" over 10 significant cases using different principles, techniques, and technologies to detect diverse measurands in various sector applications is offered to illustrate this general concept. After reading this paper, any sensing approach using Light Sciences and Technologies may be easily included under the umbrella: sensing using Light or photonic sensors (PS).This work has been supported by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-107270RB-C21/AIE/10.13039/501100011033) and also TeDFeS Project (RTC-2017-6321-1) co-funded by European FEDER funds

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Selected Papers from the 1st International Electronic Conference on Biosensors (IECB 2020)

The scope of this Special Issue is to collect some of the contributions to the First International Electronic Conference on Biosensors, which was held to bring together well-known experts currently working in biosensor technologies from around the globe, and to provide an online forum for presenting and discussing new results. The world of biosensors is definitively a versatile and universally applicable one, as demonstrated by the wide range of topics which were addressed at the Conference, such as: bioengineered and biomimetic receptors; microfluidics for biosensing; biosensors for emergency situations; nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for biosensors; intra- and extracellular biosensing; and advanced applications in clinical, environmental, food safety, and cultural heritage fields