Fast, Accurate, and Oh-So-Sharp

Graduate student Vena Haynes (in background) and summer intern Ma'Chesha Banks are using state-of-the-art molecular biological techniques to analyze the performance of a sensor array for future use in coastal margins.

The research project is a collaborative effort with Sharp Laboratories of America (SLA) who has developed an impedance-based sensor array. Each array is composed of fifteen gold interdigitated microelectrodes enclosed in a plastic, triple microfluidic chamber. Detection is achieved by impedance spectroscopy, for fast and label-free measurements in real time.

Their findings will help determine if the SLA sensor array can be used for sequence-based assays. This technology and method would provide CMOP with a fast and inexpensive device able to detect microbial sentinel species in water samples.