Chemist Dr Eithne Dempsey will talk to the deployment of rapid measurement devices - a key goal in relation to on-site testing in the environmental, agri-food, pharmaceutical and forensic science domains.
Recent research outputs in the area of on farm diagnostics (infectious diseases and fertility testing) and forensic analysis will be presented based on electronic sensors which take advantage of biomolecule selectivity towards large molecules and the redox behaviour of small molecule targets.
The emergence of “cow-side” testing capability has the potential to assess prevalence of economically significant infectious diseases, aiding herd management decisions on dairy/sheep farms.
In relation to sensor applications in the field of forensic analysis, the increased incidence of gun related crime worldwide means that forensic teams must advance field deployable detection tools for rapid and reliable identification of firearm residue (FAR).
Demonstrating the presence of such particles on a suspect for presentation as evidence in court is established practice in forensic laboratories worldwide.
A key aim here is to develop a novel means of on-site recovery and analysis of FAR using rapid electronic sensor technology. The new recovery and detection system proposed enables swift FAR identification as a portable screening tool which holds great potential for forensic practitioners.
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