Start: February 20, 2025 3:30 p.m.
End: February 20, 2025 4:30 p.m.
Developing Sensing Technologies for Improving Detection of Environmental Pollutants and Guiding Phage Therapies
Dr. Kevin Yehl
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Miami University (Ohio)
Thursday, 02/20 @ 3:30 PM
FB 253
Contamination of food and water is a major public health concern and is the root cause to many diseases. DNA-based sensors are emerging as promising tools for rapid on-site detection, which can aid in minimizing exposure. However, sensor activity towards its target analyte is not absolute so DNA-based sensors have cross-reactivity and high false positives. This is one of the major challenges limiting the wide-scale application of DNA sensors for environmental monitoring or clinical assays. To address this challenge, we are investigating using a pattern-based readout of a sensor array to improve accuracy of heavy metal and PFAS detection. Furthermore, we are developing sensing platforms for parallel analysis of numerous DNA sensor for detecting a diverse range of environmental pollutants, including organic pollutants and heavy metals. We believe that these are important first steps towards building a sensor platform capable of analyzing complex mixtures without the need of a centralized laboratory or expensive instrumentation.