Driven by curiosity. Driving changeBiosensors
Importance of diagnostic tools
A large portion of our research activities is aimed at developing new drug carrier formulations, improving our understanding of solid tumours and chemotherapy-induced cell ageing (chemotherapy-induced senescence). However, to design effective therapies, we need to be able to detect diseases early or to follow their progression before and after treatment.
Biosensor design
Nanomaterials can help us to improve the sensitivity of biosensors and create the next generation of contrast agents that will enable earlier detection of cancer. These materials can also provide us with reliable biochemical data faster.
We teamed up with Hitachi to develop photonic crystal-based biosensors, and work on the development of an electrochemical biosensor for oesophagus cancer with our colleagues from the University of Cambridge, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, and Cancer Research UK.
The tools we focus on include surface-enhanced Raman scattering, photoacoustic spectroscopy, various electrochemical strategies, as well as DNA and protein microarray technologies.
Video
Check out short video our Biosensor work.