The Problem
The conductivity meter remains a trusty tool for any wet laboratory. It measures the ability of an aqueous solution to conduct electrical charge. In its simplest manifestation, it is constructed as two electrodes, identical in shape and material, separated by a fixed distance, e.g. 1 cm. When subjected to a high frequency, small amplitude voltage, the resultant current through the circuit, completed by the solution itself, will be proportional to the solution conductivity. The probe is reusable. However, its chemical compatibility is limited. Aggressive solvents or sticky materials can end up destroying the probe. Hence there is a demand for disposable assays.
Electrochemical biosensors are becoming increasingly popular. A big stepping stone has been the success of blood glucose meters, and later continuous glucose sensors in closed-loop systems with an insulin pump, improving millions of lives by making Diabetes a manageable and non-lethal disease. Building off the architecture of these sensors, developers can essentially swap out the chemical recognition elements that gives the sensor its specificity, and target virtually any analyte. These sensors have spilled over into other fields than medicine, like food safety and quality, agriculture and aquaculture, personal safety, military and others (Turner AP. Biosensors: sense and sensibility. Chem Soc Rev. 2013 Apr 21;42(8):3184-96. ).
Continuous glucose monitoring has manifested itself during the past decade, as a better and more convenient alternative than its predecessor, the discrete blood glucose monitoring strips (BGM). The current commercial state-of-the art are devices where a needle is inserted under the skin, connected to an ex-vivo patch which handles the sensor conditioning, readout and telemetry. The patch has to be replaced every 1-2 weeks, and is considered to be somewhat painful.
Microneedles are emerging medical diagnostic devices where the needle depth height is such a that it can penetrate the skin, but just short of reaching the pain receptors. It is therefore considered pain-free.
Wearables are technological devices that have gained traction in the fitness and wellness industry, often wrist bands, waist bands or watches, capable of tracking physical parameters like heartbeat, step count, sleep tracking etc. They are widely adopted by the public, and as such an interesting prospect for expanding to continuous monitoring of biomarkers.
Tasks
The main tasks of the project are defined below. The student can decide which of these to emphasize, and which to play down. There student is free to modify anything of the below, as long as the main objective is fulfilled.
- Literature search
- Design
- Fabrication
- Characterisation
- Firmware integration
- Mechanical integration
- End-to-end validation
Outcomes
The student will learn to independently conduct a practical research project. The student will get a fundamental understanding of electrochemical biosensors, their theory and applications, and their applications in IoT systems. In return, the company will gain valuable insight into the specific application, and a broader service portfolio.
Project Sponsor and Supervisor
Zimmer & Peacock, as one of the leading companies in electrochemistry and bio sensors, sees that sensors are critical parts of the future social and commercial revolutions. With the strong base of sensor development, we are seeing our role in applied science and technology, including IoT, Sensor Web to growth sensors in medical application (in-vitro and in-vivo diagnostics market), rapid testing in the food and beverage industry, wearable biosensors, environmental tracking, etc. In the last six years ZP has been one of the biggest recruiters of students from USN, both from masters and PhD program. Starts your master project with us to join our high performance and diverse team.