Ricerc@Sapienza

An optoelectronic, integrated system-on-glass for on-chip detection of biomolecules is here presented. The system’s working principle is based on the interaction, detected by a hydrogenated amorphous silicon photosensor, between a monochromatic light travelling in a SU-8 polymer optical waveguide and the biological solution under analysis. Optical simulations of the waveguide coupling to the thin-film photodiode with a specific design were carried out.

Sensors using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) are established as themethod of choice in label-free optical biosensing.
Their sensitivity for small refractive index changes at the surface originates from the enhanced evanescent
field at the surface of a thin metal layer. However, the small number of well-suited metals (Ag, Au) with
fixed optical constants limits a further refinement of the SPR performance in terms of dispersion and resonance
width. An alternative can be found in Bloch SurfaceWaves (BSW) sustained at specially designed dielectricmultilayer

This paper talks about an original hardware project of a measuring instrument dedicated to microbial fuel cells (MFCs) electrical characterization and valorizations. MFC is a promising energy harvesting technology with zero carbon emission[1], which can produce suitable energy for low power electronic devices for application like wireless sensor network (WSN)[2] for ambient monitoring or precision agriculture.

This paper focuses on microbial fuel cells (MFCs) applications and electrical valorization. We present an open source hardware project of an electric analyzer dedicated to MFC. The project developed consent to set up a complete electrical characterization of a microbial fuel cell, useful to perform and analyze a complete charge and discharge phase of a MFC. Moreover, it allows to perform power analysis of reactor and it is independent from which kind of MFC typology is analyzed. The dedicated software consent to set up series of tests that can to be carry on automatically for days.

This paper focuses on microbial fuel cell (MFC) waste valorization, electricity generation and practical applications. A custom electronic analyzer dedicated to MFCs is presented. The measuring system allows to set up a complete electrical characterization of a microbial fuel cell, useful to facilitate and accurately analyze the charge and discharge phase of an MFC. Moreover, it allows power performance analysis and measurement of any kind of MFC typology, using a custom software, which automatically sets up a series of tests over a long period of time.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) represent new opportunities for developing electrical biosensors due to their inherent properties, including large surface-to- volume ratio, rapid signal response and nanoscale footprint comparable to biomolecular and subcellular structures. Still, fabrication of nanosized electrodes is time-consuming, pricey and might be only scarcely compatible with the Complementary-Metal-Oxide- Semiconductor integrated circuits (CMOS-IC) technology.

This paper focuses on applications and electrical valorisation of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), a promising energy harvesting technique, suitable as clean power source to supply low power devices in wireless sensor networks (WSN) for environmental and agricultural monitoring. An MFC is a bioreactor that converts energy stored in chemical bonds of organic matter into electrical energy, through a series of reactions catalysed by microorganisms. An MFC can operate as bioreactor, as bioremediator and as biosensor.

In this study, polythiophene copolymers have been used as modifier for electrode surfaces in order to allow the immobilization of active pyrroloquinoline quinone dependent glucose dehydrogenase (PQQ-GDH) and to simultaneously improve the direct electrical connection of the enzyme with the electrode. Polymer films are electrosynthesized in aqueous solution without the need of surfactants onto carbon nanotubes modified gold electrodes from mixtures of 3-thiopheneacetic acid (ThCH2CO2H) and 3-methoxythiophene (ThOCH3) using a potentiostatic pulse method.

Here we report the first mediated pain free microneedle‐based biosensor array for the continuous and simultaneous monitoring of lactate and glucose in artificial interstitial fluid (ISF). The gold surface of the microneedles has been modified by electrodeposition of Au‐multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and successively by electropolymerization of the redox mediator, methylene blue (MB).