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June 2008
Congratulations to Dr. Tony Killard who was profiled in the 'From bench to boardroom - commercialising Irish research - The Best of 2007-08' publication that was released at the first Enterprise Ireland Applied Research Forum held on the 18th June 2008. To view the publication, please click here.
May 2008
Royal Society of Chemistry Biennial Formal Dinner of the Analytical Division
The Royal Society of Chemistry Biennial Formal Dinner of the Analytical Division was held in the 1838 club at Dublin City University on the 6th May 2008. Professor Malcolm Smyth, Chairman of the Analytical Division hosted the event. The dinner was preceded by the inaugural Analytical Division awards ceremony and RSC AGM. The aim of the awards ceremony, initiated by Prof. Malcolm Smyth, aimed to showcase some of the world class research being carried out in analytical science in the UK and Ireland, as well as demonstrating the important role analytical science plays in interdisciplinary research.
Printed Functional Materials Symposium
“Printed Functional Materials”, a symposium organised by Dr. Tony Killard and Dr.Aoife Morrin, focusing on the synthesis, characterisation and application of printable functional materials will be held in DCU on 27th – 28th May 2008. The symposium will illustrate how these printable materials can be applied to the fabrication of devices such as sensors, microfluidics, diagnostic devices and printed electronics and will be of interest to industrial and academic theme leaders. For more information click here.
April 2008
SSG papers in ISI Essential Science Indicators
Two SSG papers are listed in the top ten of the ISI Essential Science Indicators for DCU in all fields.
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An amperometric enzyme biosensor fabricated from polyaniline nanoparticles, Morrin A; Ngamna O; Killard AJ; Moulton SE; Smyth MR; Wallace GG, ELECTROANAL, 17 (5-6): 423-430 MAR 2005. 15 citations
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Application of nanoparticles in electrochemical sensors and biosensors, Luo XL; Morrin A; Killard AJ; Smyth MR, ELECTROANAL, 18 (4): 319-326 FEB 2006. 14 citation
March 2008
Oxidative DNA Damage meeting
“Oxidative DNA Damage”, the first in a series of RSC workshops entitled “Analytical Tools for the Life Sciences”. Attended by over 70 delegates from Ireland and the UK, the workshop provided for discussions and networking in a relaxed atmosphere. The opening address was presented by Prof. Jean Cadet and focused on recent advancements in the measurement of DNA damage in human cells. Other speakers included Prof. Craig Lunte, who provided an in depth analysis of cutting edge sampling techniques. Prof. John Kelly explained how picosecond spectroscopy was utilised to probe the intermediate species formed during light-induced damage to DNA, while Prof. Peter Farmer described the different products detected from carcinogen-induced DNA damage. Dr. Blánaid White provided an illustration of how recent advances in separation techniques can provide improvements in resolving power and limits of detection of oxidative DNA damage analyses and Prof. Mario Leclerc revealed how optical polymers can be manipulated to provide DNA detection rivalling PCR in sensitivity.
January 2008
SSG research accepted by Journal of Chromatography B
The manuscript "Separation of oxidatively damaged DNA Nucleobases and Nucleosides on Packed and Monolith C18 Columns by HPLC-UV-EC", by Michele C. Kelly, Blánaid White and Malcolm R. Smyth was accepted on January 8th to the Elsevier journal, Journal of Chromatography B. (Impact Factor 2.647)
2007
2007 November Graduation Ceremonies
Congratulations to Gillian Whitaker, Geraldine Dowling and Padraic Walsh, members of SSG graduated on November 6th.
G4illian graduated with a PhD for her thesis "An Investigation of the Chromatographic and Electrophoretic Separations for Industrial and Clinical Applications". Geraldine and Padraic received an MSc in Science for their theses entitled "The Development of Quantitative Methods for Residues in Foods of Animal Origin with Validation According to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC" and “Investigations into the sensing capabilities of an electrochemical immunosensor employing polyaniline as a mediator species” respectively.
Three Analytical Science undergraduate students, Eimer O’Malley, Amy Farrell and Geoffrey Hamilton, who completed research projects with SSG, also graduated in this ceremony.
Prof. Jean Cadet visits DCU
SSG hosted a two week visit by Prof. Jean Cadet, CEA Grenoble and DCU International Visitor, from November 16th until November 29th. Prof. Cadet is one of the most world renowned researchers in the field of oxidative DNA damage, with over 490 publications in peer-reviewed journals and books, including more than 50 chapters. This visit was the second of 6 visits to be hosted by SSG to build up collaborations in the area of oxidative DNA damage.
SSG research accepted by the Analyst
The manuscript “An aqueous ammonia sensor based on an inkjet-printed polyaniline nanoparticle-modified electrode”, by Karl Crowley, Eimer O’Malley, Aoife Morrin, Malcolm R. Smyth and Anthony J. Killard was accepted on the 5th of December 2007 to the RSC journal, The Analyst. (Impact Factor 3.198)
SSG Research highlighted in the Irish Times
Use of standard desktop inkjet printers to print the electrochemically active polymer polyaniline was showcased in an article printed in the Irish Times on December 6th, 2007. This technology has already been applied to the sensing of ammonia by SSG, with future applications in personal monitoring devices and food packaging envisaged.
SSG Research showcased at Next Wave V
Tony Killard presented SSG research at the Enterprise Ireland Lifesciences and Food Commercialisation Showcase 2007, hosted by the Global Irish Institute, University College Dublin, on December 13th, 2007. His presentation “Low cost, mass producible ammonia sensor” was featured in the Next Wave section of the Showcase. For more information, please click here.
SSG wins two Invention Disclosure Awards
SSG were awarded 2 Invention Disclosure Awards at the DCU 2007 Invention Disclosure Awards on the 14th of December 2007. The first award went to Tony Killard, Malcolm Smyth, Karl Crowley and Aoife Morrin for their disclosure “Improved polymer materials and uses therefore (biocatalysis)”, while Tony Killard was also recognised for his disclosure “A passive RFID chemical sensing device”.
SSG wins overall award for most commercially successful Invention Disclosure
“Improved polymer materials and uses therefore (biocatalysis)” was recognised as the most commercially successful Invention Disclosure in the Physical/Chemical Sciences category of the 2007 Invention Disclosure Awards ceremony in DCU. Congratulations to Tony Killard, Malcolm Smyth, Karl Crowley and Aoife Morrin.
SSG research accepted by Analytica Chimica Acta
“The application of conducting polymer nanoparticle electrodes for the sensing of ascorbic acid” by Adriano Ambrosi, Aoife Morrin, Malcolm R. Smyth and Anthony J. Killard was accepted on the 17th of December 2007 to the Elsevier journal, Analytica Chimica Acta. (Impact Factor 2.894)
SSG purchases Dairy Camel from Bóthar
Bóthar establishes families in micro-farming units by giving them the living gift of a farm animal. SSG purchased a dairy camel in December 2007 to be sent to Kenya or Tanzania in Africa.
Polymers Down Under makes Irish Sense
On September 24th 2006, a joint NCSR/IPRI symposium on the application of Intelligent Polymer Materials for Sensor Applications was hosted by the NCSR. Organised by Aoife Morrin of SSG, this conference was packed with presentations on the complimentary research being carried out in the two centres on opposite sides of the world. The keynote speaker was Prof. Gordon Wallace, Director of the Intelligent Polymers Research Institute (IPRI), Wollongong, Australia.