ENAC Seminar Series by Prof. P. Vikesland
Event details
| Date | 27.06.2019 |
| Hour | 13:00 › 14:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. P. Vikesland |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
13:00 – 14:00 – Prof. Peter Vikesland
Full Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, USA
BioNanoTechnology Enabled Environmental Sensing
Achieving global sustainability is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and critical to attainment of this goal is the continual protection of air and water. To assure the quality of these matrices, we currently rely upon a broad range of monitoring techniques - many of which are outdated and unreliable. However, recent advances in both nanotechnology and biotechnology are enabling development of novel sensor platforms that are more sensitive and more cost-effective than existing approaches. In this presentation, I will illustrate how these new sensor technologies can be used both for highly targeted analyte detection as well as for non-target analyses.
In the first part of this presentation, I will present work conducted to develop gold nanoparticle enabled plasmonic platforms that facilitate targeted analyte detection. As will be shown, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to sensitively detect and quantify a broad array of environmental analytes such as pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and pH both in bulk samples as well as in confined environments. Such quantitation is achieved through the application of a new quantitative approach entitled ‘Hot-Spot Normalized SERS’.
In the second part of the presentation, I will illustrate the power of non-targeted metagenomic sequencing methods to delineate the ‘resistomes’ of wastewaters collected from across the world. Antibiotic resistance is a global public health concern comprising multiple environmental pathways whereby emergence, horizontal transfer, dissemination and human exposure routes are supported. Wastewater treatment plants are one such pathway as they provide an ideal environment for the convergence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic resistance carriers, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selective pressures; while also providing ample opportunity for horizontal and vertical gene transfer. I will show how a combination of approaches including Illumina and Nanopore sequencing, SERS, and data analytics provide complementary insights about this emerging global threat.
Full Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, USA
BioNanoTechnology Enabled Environmental Sensing
Achieving global sustainability is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and critical to attainment of this goal is the continual protection of air and water. To assure the quality of these matrices, we currently rely upon a broad range of monitoring techniques - many of which are outdated and unreliable. However, recent advances in both nanotechnology and biotechnology are enabling development of novel sensor platforms that are more sensitive and more cost-effective than existing approaches. In this presentation, I will illustrate how these new sensor technologies can be used both for highly targeted analyte detection as well as for non-target analyses.
In the first part of this presentation, I will present work conducted to develop gold nanoparticle enabled plasmonic platforms that facilitate targeted analyte detection. As will be shown, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to sensitively detect and quantify a broad array of environmental analytes such as pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and pH both in bulk samples as well as in confined environments. Such quantitation is achieved through the application of a new quantitative approach entitled ‘Hot-Spot Normalized SERS’.
In the second part of the presentation, I will illustrate the power of non-targeted metagenomic sequencing methods to delineate the ‘resistomes’ of wastewaters collected from across the world. Antibiotic resistance is a global public health concern comprising multiple environmental pathways whereby emergence, horizontal transfer, dissemination and human exposure routes are supported. Wastewater treatment plants are one such pathway as they provide an ideal environment for the convergence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic resistance carriers, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and selective pressures; while also providing ample opportunity for horizontal and vertical gene transfer. I will show how a combination of approaches including Illumina and Nanopore sequencing, SERS, and data analytics provide complementary insights about this emerging global threat.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- ENAC
Contact
- Cristina Perez