Charuksha Walgama of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith will give a virtual seminar titled "Electrochemical detection of a heart failure biomarker on paper" on Zoom from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. The talk is free and open to the public.

Walgama is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. He received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and his Ph.D. in bioanalytical chemistry from Oklahoma State University. Before moving to UAFS, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on immobilizing redox enzymes onto electrochemical platforms for biosensing/biocatalytic applications and developing low-cost diagnostic analytical devices using paper and 3D printing.

Heart failure is one of the highly reported cardiovascular diseases among the aging population of United States and the numbers are continuously rising in every year. Acutely decompensated heart failure is prominently diagnosed by elevated plasma levels of B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and its N-terminal precursor, NT-proBNP. Walgama's intentions are driven to develop a simple, inexpensive, and easily manufactured paper analytical device to detect NT-proBNP, which could help patients to monitor their condition at home and acquire medical supervision in timely manner.

The analysis is carried out using a robust antibody sandwich assay, and detection is by a fast, electrochemical approach with a 250000-fold amplification. In the sandwich assay, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are utilized as detection labels and detected on a screen-printed carbon electrode by a galvanic exchange reaction. This paper device can detect NT-proBNP in a stepwise assay formation format in clinically relevant ranges. A continuous technical progress undergoes to improve the analytical performance and the sample handling mechanism of the sensor platform.

To attend the seminar, please visit the Zoom link.
Meeting ID: 816 8890 5611
Passcode: Anyl@2021