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	Author	Naderi Mahdei, K.; Esfahani, S.M.J.; Lebailly, P.; Dogot, T.; Van Passel, S.; Azadi, H.
	Title	Environmental impact assessment and efficiency of cotton : the case of Northeast Iran			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Environment, development and sustainability	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	1-21
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	Cotton is one of the important crops that play an important role in creating a livelihood for rural people in many parts of Iran. Cotton production necessitates a large amount of resources (e.g., fossil energy and agrochemicals, all of which have the potential to damage the environment in various ways). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the environmental effects of cotton production in the South Khorasan Province of Iran. For this purpose, life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques have been applied to investigate the environmental impacts of cotton production. LCA is a practical method to evaluate the environment on the product flow, in which all aspects of the product life cycle are examined by a comprehensive approach. Furthermore, combining the LCA method with other managerial strategies such as DEA could allow researchers to provide decision-makers with more practical and interpretable data. The findings of the efficiency test showed that the average technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency were 0.81, 0.92, and 0.87, respectively. Respiratory inorganics (i.e., respiratory effects resulting from winter smog caused by emissions of dust, sulfur, and nitrogen oxides to air) posed the greatest environmental burden in cotton production, followed by non-renewable energy, carcinogens, and global warming. In addition, the highest effects were on human health, and then, on resources and climate change. Energy, on-system pollution, and waste played a crucial role in the environmental impacts of cotton processing. This study suggests improving farmers' knowledge toward the optimum application of chemical fertilizers, or their substitution with green fertilizers, which reduces the environmental effect of growing cotton in the area.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000826851400001	Publication Date	2022-07-18
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1387-585x; 1573-2975	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	4.9	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 4.9
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189630			Serial	7356
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Van Schoubroeck, S.; Vermeyen, V.; Alaerts, L.; Van Acker, K.; Van Passel, S.
	Title	How to monitor the progress towards a circular food economy : a Delphi study			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Sustainable Production and Consumption	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	32	Issue		Pages	457-467
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	Within the food sector, the implementation of a circular economy (CE) can reduce resource consumption and emissions to the environment by moving away from a linear and unsustainable system. This necessitates a clear vision on what circularity for food means, which will provide a much-needed foundation to develop a mon-itoring tool that reveals insights into the progress being made towards a CE, and to expose the bottlenecks and opportunities. This research study contributes to the development of a shared vision for circularity within the food system, and defines and prioritizes a set of indicator themes to monitor a circular food economy (CFE). A two-round Delphi study was performed, including a brainstorming session with experts and the construction of a consensus ranking of indicator themes, considering the production and processing and the consumption stage. The Delphi results provide a shared vision on a CFE, and a blueprint for researchers and policy-makers on its monitoring, which will stimulate the progression from a linear to a circular system.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000806368300009	Publication Date	2022-05-07
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	2352-5509	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	12.1	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 12.1
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189513			Serial	7360
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Larraín, M.
	Title	Recycling of plastics : linking technical, economic and policy aspects of post-consumer plastic packaging			Type	Doctoral thesis
	Year	2022	Publication		Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	x, 165 p.
	Keywords	Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Engineering Management (ENM); Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS)
	Abstract	The rise in plastic packaging production and disposal has encouraged the progress of recycling technologies and aroused policy discussion on how to increase recycling rates. However, the effect that these policy instruments will have on the development of the different recycling technologies has not been studied holistically yet. This dissertation explores how new and existing technologies will behave under the market and policy conditions observed at present and after the implementation of the policy instruments that are under discussion. The technologies that are analyzed in this thesis are mechanical recycling and thermochemical recycling of post-consumer polyolefin waste. Using a techno-economic assessment that takes into account the physical properties of the different plastic fractions and their contamination level, the study shows that both mechanical and thermochemical recycling can be profitable if oil prices remain steady or increase. Specifically, mechanical recycling will show better results than thermochemical recycling for plastic fractions with low contamination levels. On the contrary, thermochemical recycling is more profitable for fractions with a higher contamination level from which high-quality products cannot be obtained with mechanical recycling, such as PE films. Moreover, it demonstrates that besides the oil prices and sorted waste prices, waste purity and the plant capacity are the variables that influence more the net present value of thermochemical recycling and the labor cost and waste purity the ones of mechanical recycling. The thesis explores the dynamics between the stakeholders of the circular value chain and predicts the recycling rates under the implementation of several policy instruments. This is done with a supply chain equilibrium model, based on the extended producer responsibility scheme implemented in Flanders, that uses as an input the cost structures of mechanical and thermochemical recycling obtained from the techno-economic assessments. Direct interventions like recycled content standards, can decouple the recycling industry from the oil market, but in the long term, they may not present incentives to achieve recycling levels beyond the targeted amounts and thus limit technological innovation. On the contrary, economic interventions such as taxes, create economic incentives for recycling and allow fund collection from the government but leave the recycled levels dependent on external markets. Results also show that higher recycling rates does not necessarily mean better environmental performance. Therefore, when designing circular economy policies, policymakers should carefully analyze whether the intention is to increase circularity or improve the sustainability of the value chains.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:191730			Serial	7366
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Thomassen, G.; Van Passel, S.; Alaerts, L.; Dewulf, J.
	Title	Retrospective and prospective material flow analysis of the post-consumer plastic packaging waste management system in Flanders			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Waste Management	Abbreviated Journal	Waste Manage
	Volume	147	Issue		Pages	10-21
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	The post-consumer plastic packaging waste management in Flanders was analyzed by performing a retrospective material flow analysis, covering an extensive period from 1985 to 2019. In addition, a prospective material flow analysis of 32 improvement scenarios was performed, based on expected changes in the waste management system. Mass recovery rates were calculated based on different interpretations of the calculation rules. Moreover, various cascading levels were identified to differentiate between the quality level of the secondary applications. The mass recovery rate including only recycling evolved from a value of 0% in 1985 to 31% in 2019 and could be increased to 36-62% depending on the improvement scenario selected. However, the different interpretations of the calculation rules led to a variation of up to 20 and 41% on this mass recovery rates for the retrospective and prospective analysis, respectively. The introduction of monostream recycling for additional post-consumer plastic packaging flows, such as low-density polyethylene, did not lead to increasing mass recovery rates, if no differentiation for the cascading levels was made. The Belgian recycling target of 65% for 2023 will be challenging if the strictest calculation method needs to be followed or if the improvements in the Flemish postconsumer plastic packaging waste system do not follow the best-case collection scenarios under the given assumptions. To harmonize the calculation and monitoring of these targets, clear calculation rules need to be accompanied with a harmonized monitoring system over the entire waste management system.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000802961100002	Publication Date	2022-05-17
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0956-053x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	8.1	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 8.1
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188651			Serial	7367
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Tschulkow, M.
	Title	A techno-environmental economic assessment of a lignin-first biorefinery : a dynamic and prospective framework for emerging technologies			Type	Doctoral thesis
	Year	2022	Publication		Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	175 p.
	Keywords	Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	Novel emerging biorefinery technologies have gained interest and have the potential to tackle several sustainability challenges in our society. A lignin-first biorefinery process – reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) – is currently under development with the aim to process wood into high-value end-products that replace highly polluting fossil oil-based products. However, such emerging technologies are not matured yet, holding a certain degree of technological, economic, and environmental uncertainty. Hence, an appropriate assessment method is required to assess techno-economic feasibility and environmental impacts of emerging uncertain technologies (e.g lignin-first RCF process). This dissertation aims to develop an integrated techno-environmental economic assessment framework to assess emerging technologies dynamically and prospectively from economic and environmental points of view. First, a techno-economic assessment (TEA) is performed to assess the economic feasibility and the most influential economic and technological parameters of the lignin-first RCF biorefinery taking the whole wood value chain into account. By making the relations across the wood value chain, the scale of the biorefinery, wood species, and output prices highly determine the economic feasibility. The economic feasibility can be reached by a sufficient capacity level which depends on wood species-specific conditions. Also, waste wood proves to be the most profitable feedstock in comparison to virgin wood. Second, an analytical real options analysis (ROA) is performed taking two correlated market uncertainties and the value of flexibility into account to identify the optimal investment decision in an RCF biorefinery. Two different investment options, separated and united investments in harvesting equipment and RCF biorefinery, are analyzed. In both scenarios, market uncertainty postpones the investment. When both investment decisions are united, the probability of investment increases in comparison to separated investments. The study reveals that RCF has the potential to stimulate investments within the wood value chain. Third, a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to assess the carbon emissions and the environmental consequences of the lignin-first RCF process and its products. The study reveals that at the current stage RCF products have higher carbon emissions than their alternative counterparts. Several options to improve the environmental performance are discussed such as different RCF technology configurations, targeting different RCF products with the ability to replace higher polluting alternative counterparts on the markets. Other discussion points such as transportation type and the distance, (in-)direct land-use change, the use stage and disposal stages implications, and a more comprehensive environmental view of the RCF products, show the potential to improve the environmental performance of the RCF technology. Overall, the study shows that the RCF process can be environmentally desirable if the appropriate RCF configuration and products are chosen. Finally, the above-mentioned methods – techno-economic assessment, analytical real options analysis, and consequential life cycle assessment – are uniquely integrated within the newly developed integrated assessment framework. The framework has the aim to complement the shortcomings and combine the advantages of all three methods. The framework assesses emerging technologies to give predictive insights about the time-specific economic and environmental performance under the newly developed three threshold conditions: technological readiness, economic feasibility, and environmental desirability. The developed integrated assessment framework assesses dynamically and prospectively the RCF biorefinery implementation under Belgian conditions. It reveals that the economic feasibility increases and carbon emissions decrease over time. The RCF biorefinery fulfills all three threshold conditions – technological readiness, economic feasibility, and environmental desirability – consecutively. The newly developed integrated assessment framework offers decision support to several stakeholders of emerging technologies starting from low technology readiness level (TRL). Practitioners such as the technology developers, researchers, and policymakers can use the framework to evaluate emerging technologies that deal with high levels of technological, economic, and environmental uncertainties. The framework assesses emerging technologies on a detailed level to give decision-makers in-depth insights into the intertwined nature of the technological, economic, and environmental dimensions. It offers insights into the expected time-specific economic and environmental performances, potential, and challenges of the emerging technology to further improve the technology and direct R&Ds along the right path.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: NA
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188968			Serial	7369
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Larraín, M.; Billen, P.; Van Passel, S.
	Title	The effect of plastic packaging recycling policy interventions as a complement to extended producer responsibility schemes : a partial equilibrium model			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Waste Management	Abbreviated Journal	Waste Manage
	Volume	153	Issue		Pages	355-366
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering Management (ENM); Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS)
	Abstract	Extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes have effectively increased the plastic waste that is separately collected. However, due to the structure of the recycling industry, EPR cannot increase recycling rates up to the target levels.Additional policy instruments to increase recycling rates such as recycled content targets, green dot fees bonus for recycled content, recycling targets and taxes on non-recycled plastic packaging have been discussed on a political level in the last years. However, very little research has quantitatively studied the effectiveness of these policy interventions.Using a partial equilibrium model, this paper examines the effectiveness of the implementation of the aforementioned policy instruments to increase recycling rates and the impact on different stakeholders of the value chain: plastic producers, consumers, producer responsibility organization and recyclers.Results show that direct interventions (recycled content standards and recycling targets) have the benefit of decoupling the recycling industry from external markets such as the oil market. They can be a good starting point to increase recycling, but in the long term they may be restricting by not presenting incentives to achieve recycling levels beyond the targeted amounts and by limiting technological innovation. On the contrary, eco-nomic interventions such as a green dot fee bonus or a packaging tax create economic incentives for recycling. However, these incentives are diminished by the lower perceived quality of packaging with higher recycled content levels.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000868915000004	Publication Date	2022-09-30
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0956-053x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	8.1	Times cited		Open Access	Not_Open_Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 8.1
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:191367			Serial	7370
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Van Oijstaeijen, W.; Van Passel, S.; Back, P.; Cools, J.
	Title	The politics of green infrastructure : a discrete choice experiment with Flemish local decision-makers			Type	Administrative Services
	Year	2022	Publication	Ecological Economics	Abbreviated Journal	Ecol Econ
	Volume	199	Issue		Pages	107493-18
	Keywords	Administrative Services; A1 Journal article; Economics; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	Being confronted with increasing and expanding urbanisation and the loss of natural green spaces, our living environment is threatened more and more by the effects of global climate change. Green infrastructure is often thought of as the solution to increase climate resilience and reinforce the quality of the lived environment simultaneously. While the benefits, or ecosystem services, that are generated through green infrastructure have been studied intensively, forces that influence green infrastructure decision-making have been far less subjected to thorough research. In this study a discrete choice experiment was conducted with local decision makers in Flemish municipalities to reveal crucial factors in the decision process applied to green infrastructure projects. Flanders is one of the most densely built regions in Europe, stressing the urgency to understand local spatial decision factors to guarantee green space. 568 decision makers active in the local administration of 235 Flemish municipalities participated in the experiment, set in a hypothetical neighbourhood park. Every choice alternative exists of five attributes: investment cost, maintenance cost, deferred investment, recreational value, and climate impact. We find that barriers hampering Flemish munipalities' GI implementation, differ over size of the municipality: smallers municipalities are more affected by knowledge gaps, while larger municipalities are experiencing prioritization issues. Results from hierarchical Bayes choice models indicate that municipal decisions on green infrastructure are highly – almost solely -cost-driven, rarely consider the full range of benefits, and centre around short-term and immediate arguments. Moreover, interaction models reveal that a municipalities' financial result is a key determinant of its willingness to invest in public greening and consider long term benefits, suggesting that GI is a luxury good. The results expose some of the heuristics in GI decision making and can be used to inform higher authorities on ways to overcome barriers towards informed decision-making and to facilitate GI investment.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000811715200008	Publication Date	2022-06-08
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0921-8009; 1873-6106	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 7
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189018			Serial	7371
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Bjørnåvold, A.; David, M.; Bohan, D.A.; Gibert, C.; Rousselle, J.-M.; Van Passel, S.
	Title	Why does France not meet its pesticide reduction targets? Farmers' socio-economic trade-offs when adopting agro-ecological practices			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Ecological Economics	Abbreviated Journal	Ecol Econ
	Volume	198	Issue		Pages	107440-28
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Economics; Engineering Management (ENM)
	Abstract	Despite substantial policy efforts made by the French government to reduce dependence on pesticides, farming practices are only changing slowly. This paper analyses the socio-economic trade-offs that 110 farmers are currently facing in the transition to agro-ecological practices. A mixed-method approach – a quantitative discrete choice experiment (DCE) and qualitative interviews – was set up to understand these farmers' motivations and perspectives, and how policy can improve to accompany them on the road to low chemical input farming. Results of the DCE indicate that the majority of the farmers in our sample are keen to change practices but are at a loss as to how this can be done, as a number of preferences for this transition came out as inconclusive. Qualitative interviews with a representative sample of the farmers that took part in the DCE complemented this result by illustrating a deep uncertainty for the future and a disconnect felt between authorities and themselves as a group. We argue that this uncertainty contributed to a lack of clear-cut solutions established through the DCE. The indepth discussions with farmers illustrated the wish for concrete and local policy measures based on farmers' networks and peer support.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000802083900003	Publication Date	2022-05-07
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0921-8009; 1873-6106	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor	7	Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 7
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188764			Serial	7375
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Neven, L.; Barich, H.; Sleegers, N.; Cánovas, R.; Debruyne, G.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Development of a combi-electrosensor for the detection of phenol by combining photoelectrochemistry and square wave voltammetry			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Analytica chimica acta	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	1206	Issue		Pages	339732
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	The high toxicity, endocrine-disrupting effects and low (bio)degradability commonly attributed to phenolic compounds have promoted their recognition as priority toxic pollutants. For this reason, the monitoring of these compounds in industrial, domestic and agricultural streams is crucial to prevent and decrease their toxicity in our daily life. To confront this relevant environmental issue, we propose the use of a combi-electrosensor which combines singlet oxygen (1O2)-based photoelectrochemistry (PEC) with square wave voltammetry (SWV). The high sensitivity of the PEC sensor (being a faster alternative for traditional COD measurements) ensures the detection of nmol L−1 levels of phenolic compounds while the SWV measurements (being faster than the color test kits) allow the differentiation between phenolic compounds. Herein, we report on the development of such a combi-electrosensor for the sensitive and selective detection of phenol (PHOH) in the presence of related phenolic compounds such as hydroquinone (HQ), bisphenol A (BPA), resorcinol (RC) and catechol (CC). The PEC sensor was able to determine the concentration of PHOH in spiked river samples containing only PHOH with a recovery between 96% and 111%. The SWV measurements elucidated the presence of PHOH, HQ and CC in the spiked samples containing multiple phenol compounds. Finally, the practicality of the combi-electrosensor set-up with a dual SPE containing two working electrodes and shared reference and counter electrodes was demonstrated. As a result, the combination of the two techniques is a powerful and valuable tool in the analysis of phenolic samples, since each technique improves the general performance by overcoming the inherent drawbacks that they display independently.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000793070200016	Publication Date	2022-03-16
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0003-2670; 1873-4324	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:187499			Serial	8848
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Mendonça Verbinnen, C.D.
	Title	Development of semiconductor-based photoelectrochemical sensing strategies for phenolic compounds in natural and supply water			Type	Doctoral thesis
	Year	2022	Publication		Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	152 p.
	Keywords	Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	A wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds have been frequently released into the environment without control by industries and agricultural activities. This has caused significant impact on the development and health of living organisms, and biodiversity. Therefore, the challenge of monitoring and/or remediation of these contaminants remains. This thesis presents the development of three sensing strategies based on photoelectrochemical sensors to monitor phenolic contaminants. The well-known semiconductors TiO2 and ZnO were used for building novel setups for nM analysis of phenolic compounds in water. The setups employing TiO2-based photosensors were integrated into a photoelectrochemical flow cell. The flow system favored higher sensitivity of the method by periodic wash sequences of the electrode, significantly reducing the electrode fouling. Firstly, a straightforward method was developed based on the immobilization of TiO2 on screen printed graphite electrodes. Under UV light, the developed photosensor presented high performance for the detection of 4- aminophenol. A second study was developed by impregnating gold nanoparticles into TiO2 structure. The incorporation of gold nanoparticles can broaden the light absorption region of TiO2 and improve its photocatalytic activity for the detection of hydroquinone under visible light. In both systems, the detection was possible due to the presence of reactive oxygen species at the surface of TiO2 upon light, which participate in the oxidation process of the analyte. By applying a reductive potential, the oxidized form of the analyte gets reduced and a measurable amperometric response proportional to the initial analyte concentration is recorded. The third proposed setup is a ZnO-based photosensor for the quantification of 4-nitrophenol under UVA light. Nanostructured ZnO was electrochemically synthesized on FTO glass without the use of catalysts or seed layer. A post-growth annealing treatment significantly improved ZnO nanorods physicochemical properties. Subsequent modification of ZnO nanorods with a photosensitizer (perylene acid) increased the photocurrent response and the sensitivity. In this system, the detection mechanism is based on the decrease of the photocurrent response at the presence of an electron harvesting molecule, such as 4-nitrophenol. The decrease in photocurrent is proportional to the increase of 4-nitrophenol concentration in the solution. The applicability of the photoelectrochemical semiconductor-based sensing setups was verified to analyze phenolic compounds in natural and supply water samples. The proposed robust and sensitive approaches were designed for the on-site monitoring of phenolic compounds. The encouraging results confirm the potential of these photosensors as promising tools for tracelevel sensing purposes.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:186763			Serial	8850
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Montiel, F.N.; Parrilla, M.; Sleegers, N.; Van Durme, F.; van Nuijs, A.L.N.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Electrochemical sensing of amphetamine-type stimulants (pre)-precursors to fight against the illicit production of synthetic drugs			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Electrochimica acta	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	436	Issue		Pages	141446-11
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Toxicological Centre; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	The illicit drug precursor market for the manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), mainly amphetamine, methamphetamine and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), has emerged quickly in the last years. The evidence of a more complex and sophisticated drug market underlines the pressing need for new on-site methods to quickly detect precursors of synthetic drugs, with electrochemical analysis as a promising technique. Herein, the electrochemical fingerprints of ten common ATS precursors-3-oxo-2-phenylbutanenitrile (APAAN), 3-oxo-2-phenylbutanamide (APAA), methyl 3-oxo-2-phenylbutanoate (MAPA), benzyl methyl ketone (BMK), 1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)propan-2-one (PMK), ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, safrole, sassafras oil and piperonal- are reported for the first time. The electrochemical screening disclosed the redox inactivity of BMK, which is an essential starting material for the production of ATS. Therefore, the local derivatization of BMK at an electrode surface by reductive amination is presented as a feasible solution to enrich its electrochemical fingerprint. To prove that, the resulting mixture was analyzed using a set of chromatographic techniques to understand the reaction mechanism and to identify possible electrochemical active products. Two reaction products (i.e. methamphetamine and 1-phenylpropan-2-ol) were found and characterized using mass spectrometry and electrochemical methods. Subsequently, the optimization of the reaction parameters was carefully addressed to set the portable electrochemical sensing strategy. Ultimately, the analysis concept was validated for the qualitative identification of ATS precursors in seizures from a forensic institute. Overall, the electrochemical approach demonstrates to be a useful and affordable analytical tool for the early identification of ATS precursors to prevent trafficking and drug manufacture in clandestine laboratories.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000914833800003	Publication Date	2022-10-27
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0013-4686	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:191622			Serial	8858
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Moro, G.; Foumthuim, C.J.D.; Spinaci, M.; Martini, E.; Cimino, D.; Balliana, E.; Lieberzeit, P.; Romano, F.; Giacometti, A.; Campos, R.; De Wael, K.; Moretto, L.M.
	Title	How perfluoroalkyl substances modify fluorinated self-assembled monolayer architectures : an electrochemical and computational study			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Analytica chimica acta	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	1204	Issue		Pages	339740-12
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	There is an urgent need for sensing strategies to screen perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in aqueous matrices. These strategies must be applicable in large-scale monitoring plans to face the ubiquitous use of PFAS, their wide global spread, and their fast evolution towards short-chain, branched molecules. To this aim, the changes in fluorinated self-assembled monolayers (SAM) with different architectures (pinholes/defects-free and with randomized pinholes/defects) were studied upon exposure to both long and short-chain PFAS. The applicability of fluorinated SAM in PFAS sensing was evaluated. Changes in the SAM structures were characterised combining electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and voltam-metric techniques. The experimental data interpretation was supported by molecular dynamics simu-lations to gain a more in-depth understanding of the interaction mechanisms involved. Pinhole/defect-free fluorinated SAM were found to be applicable to long-chain PFAS screening within switch-on sensing strategy, while a switch-off sensing strategy was reported for screening of both short/long-chain PFAS. These strategies confirmed the possibility to play on fluorophilic interactions when designing PFAS screening methods.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000789493000010	Publication Date	2022-03-17
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0003-2670; 1873-4324	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	Not_Open_Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188658			Serial	8880
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Neven, L.; Barich, H.; Rutten, R.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Novel (photo)electrochemical analysis of aqueous industrial samples containing phenols			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Microchemical journal	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	181	Issue		Pages	107778-11
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	Phenols are considered as toxic pollutants and their discharge into the environment by industries is regulated by a concentration limit. As these limits are in the low mg L−1 to µg L−1-range, sensitive methods are necessary to detect these phenols. Here, aqueous industrial phenolic samples throughout a cleaning process were analyzed by two novel electrochemical sensors. Both the photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor and the square wave voltammetric (SWV) sensor could successfully follow the decrease of the concentration of phenols along the industrial cleaning process. The discharge sample (μg L−1) could only be analyzed by the PEC sensor and not by the SWV sensor, as the phenolic concentration was close to the LOD of the latter. With HPLC-diode array detector (DAD) measurements, classical phenols such as phenol (PHOH), hydroquinone, resorcinol and o-cresol could be identified in the industrial samples, and their presence could be linked to the electrochemical responses. At last, the performance of the PEC and SWV sensors were compared with commercial colorimetric and chemical oxygen demand (COD) test kits. This comparison demonstrated the high sensitivity of the PEC sensor in the μg L−1 concentrated phenolic samples. Together with the identification of the redox peaks through HPLC-DAD analysis, the SWV sensor can be a powerful tool in the qualitative analysis of mg L−1 concentrated phenolic samples due to its speed, simplicity and absence of laborious sample pre-treatment steps.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000837838400003	Publication Date	2022-07-20
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0026-265x; 0026-265x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189428			Serial	8906
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	Author	Schram, J.; Parrilla, M.; Slosse, A.; Van Durme, F.; Åberg, J.; Björk, K.; Bijvoets, S.M.; Sap, S.; Heerschop, M.W.J.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Paraformaldehyde-coated electrochemical sensor for improved on-site detection of amphetamine in street samples			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Microchemical journal	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	179	Issue		Pages	107518-107519
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	The increasing illicit production, distribution and abuse of amphetamine (AMP) poses a challenge for law enforcement worldwide. To effectively combat this issue, fast and portable tools for the on-site screening of suspicious samples are required. Electrochemical profile (EP)-based sensing of illicit drugs has proven to be a viable option for this purpose as it allows rapid voltammetric measurements via the use of disposable and low-cost graphite screen-printed electrodes (SPEs). In this work, a highly practical paraformaldehyde (PFA)-coated sensor, which unlocks the detectability of primary amines through derivatization, is developed for the on-site detection of AMP in seized drug samples. A potential interval was defined at the sole AMP peak (which is used for identification of the target analyte) to account for potential shifts due to fluctuations in concentration and temperature, which are relevant factors for on-site use. Importantly, it was found that AMP detection was not hindered by the presence of common diluents and adulterants such as caffeine, even when present in high amounts. When inter-drug differentiation is desired, a simultaneous second test with the same solution on an unmodified electrode is introduced to provide the required additional electrochemical information. Finally, the concept was validated by analyzing 30 seized AMP samples (reaching a sensitivity of 96.7 %) and comparing its performance to that of commercially available Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) devices.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000809675500010	Publication Date	2022-04-26
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0026-265x; 0026-265x	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188454			Serial	8910
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	Author	Ortiz-Aguayo, D.; Ceto, X.; De Wael, K.; del Valle, M.
	Title	Resolution of opiate illicit drugs signals in the presence of some cutting agents with use of a voltammetric sensor array and machine learning strategies			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Sensors and actuators : B : chemical	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	357	Issue		Pages	131345
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	In the present work, the resolution and quantification of mixtures of different opiate compounds in the presence of common cutting agents using an electronic tongue (ET) is evaluated. More specifically, ternary mixtures of heroin, morphine and codeine were resolved in the presence of caffeine and paracetamol. To this aim, an array of three carbon screen-printed electrodes were modified with different ink-like solutions of graphite, cobalt (II) phthalocyanine and palladium, and their responses towards the different drugs were characterized by means of square wave voltammetry (SWV). Developed sensors showed a good performance with good linearity at the mu M level, LODs between 1.8 and 5.3 mu M for the 3 actual drugs, and relative standard deviation (RSD) ca. 2% for over 50 consecutive measurements. Next, a quantitative model that allowed the identification and quantification of the individual substances from the overlapped voltammograms was built using partial least squares regression (PLS) as the modeling tool. With this approach, quantification of the different drugs was achieved at the mu M level, with a total normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of 0.084 for the test subset.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000745113900003	Publication Date	2021-12-31
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0925-4005	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:185446			Serial	8922
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	Author	Thiruvottriyur Shanmugam, S.; Trashin, S.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Singlet oxygen-based photoelectrochemical detection of DNA			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Biosensors and bioelectronics	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	195	Issue		Pages	113652
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	The current work, designed for the photoelectrochemical detection of DNA, evaluates light-responsive DNA probes carrying molecular photosensitizers generating singlet oxygen (1O2). We take advantage of their chromophore’s ability to produce 1O2 upon photoexcitation and subsequent photocurrent response. Type I, fluorescent and type II photosensitizers were studied using diode lasers at 406 nm blue, 532 nm green and 659 nm red lasers in the presensce and absence of a redox reporter, hydroquinone (HQ). Only type II photosensitizers (producing 1O2) resulted in a noticeable photocurrent in 1–4 nA range upon illumination, in particular, dissolved DNA probes labeled with chlorin e6 and erythrosine were found to give a well-detectable photocurrent response in the presence of HQ. Whereas, Type I photosensitizers and fluorescent chromophores generate negligible photocurrents (<0.15 nA). The analytical performance of the sensing system was evaluated using a magnetic beads-based DNA assay on disposable electrode platforms, with a focus to enhance the sensitivity and robustness of the technique in detecting complementary DNA targets. Amplified photocurrent responses in the range of 70–100 nA were obtained and detection limits of 17 pM and 10 pM were achieved using magnetic beads-captured chlorin e6 and erythrosine labeled DNA probes respectively. The presented novel photoelectrochemical detection can further be optimized and employed in applications for which enzymatic amplification such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is not applicable owing to their limitations and as an effective alternative to colorimetric detection when rapid detection of specific nucleic acid targets is required.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000705223300003	Publication Date	2021-09-23
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0956-5663	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:181796			Serial	8930
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Thiruvottriyur Shanmugam, S.
	Title	Singlet oxygen-based photoelectrochemical detection of nucleic acids			Type	Doctoral thesis
	Year	2022	Publication		Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	217 p.
	Keywords	Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small oligonucleotides (18-25 bases) that play a key role in epigenetic regulation. Since the discovery of miRNAs in 1993, their role in biological processes has been extensively investigated. By now, it has been evidenced that monitoring and detection of miRNAs can improve (early) disease diagnosis. The existing diagnostic approaches have limitations such as the need for complex multistep protocols for sample preparation, analysis, data interpretation, high cost of equipment, the need for highly qualified personnel, and high laboratory standards. As opposed to this, point-of-care biosensors and chips aim to facilitate the procedure and avoid sending samples into centralized laboratories, which saves time, reduces the chance of sample degradation, and enables analysis of patient samples in remote areas, directly at home or primary and secondary care facilities (i.e. general practitioners and specialists). The latter is essential for therapy assessment and follow-up monitoring of patients with chronic diseases and cancer. Nevertheless, the development of such sensors is lagging compared to the projections of 10 – 20 years ago, mainly due to insufficient sensitivity, poor reproducibility, and the complexity of the sensors’ design reported in the research literature. This motivates the development of new detection strategies and technologies such as photoelectrochemical sensors that combine the best features of different sensing approaches. The primary concern when developing detection technologies for miRNA is the need for a highly sensitive and selective platform. This thesis explores a novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) method that is distinctive owing to its sensitive nature and simple and robust design. Firstly, we focused on the usage of recently emerging commercial gold-sputtered electrode systems for the detection of short nucleic acid with enzymatic amplification. Importantly, cleaning such electrodes is a challenge since the standard procedures known for regular disk electrodes such as polishing cannot be employed here, since it will damage the protective layer on the electrode. However, the electrodes can be washed and pretreated chemically and/or electrochemically. Thus, a procedure to effectively clean and modify the gold-sputtered electrode has been developed, resulting in high-performance gold-sputtered nucleic acid sensors. Next, the usage of molecular photosensitizers as an alternative to enzymatic amplification has been evaluated. We took advantage of the singlet oxygen production by photosensitizers upon photoexcitation, leading to a photocurrent response due to the singlet oxygen-induced (electro)chemical conversions. Following the demonstration of the detection strategy, the analytical performance of the sensing system was evaluated using magnetic beads-based nucleic acid assay on disposable electrode platforms, with a focus to enhance the sensitivity and robustness of the technique in detecting complementary nucleic acid targets. Following the fundamental evaluation of the singlet oxygen-based PEC detection of nucleic acids, we further optimized the assay and measurement parameters and employed the sensing strategy for a polymerase chain reaction-free (PCR-free) quantification of miRNAs related to prostate cancer. By successfully detecting and quantifying low-picomolar range concentrations (< 10 pM) in plasma samples from prostate cancer patients, we successfully showed the applicability of the novel sensing strategy. We have also compared and positioned the performance of our developed PEC strategy with an existing state-of-art technique, i.e. electrochemiluminescence (ECL). Our PEC strategy performed on par with ECL, both yielding low-picomolar detection limits in serum matrices, however quicker and cheaper than ECL. Owing to the versatility of this PEC technique, the final study explored its multiplexing capability. As a starting point in this branch of the research, we have investigated two possible ways for multiplexing. To perform multiple measurements at the same time, constructing calibration plots and quantifying unknown miRNA concentrations in patient samples at the same time, we have developed a high-throughput detection with 96X multi-channel electrode systems and in-house designed and constructed 96XLED illumination sources. Secondly, to detect more than one target miRNA in a single measurement, intra-vial multiplexing where the samples were analyzed for different targets in one vial was also explored. Altogether, this thesis presents the fundamentals, development and application of a novel PEC strategy for detecting short (< 25 bases) nucleic acid sequences, in particular, miRNA. With an aim to serve as a distinctive technique to function as a clinical testing platform without any need for PCR, this work adds value to the development of nucleic acid-based sensors for miRNAs and other short-stranded nucleic acid biomarkers, and benefits in the early detection of diseases like cancer.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:191753			Serial	8931
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Neven, L.
	Title	Singlet oxygen-based photoelectrochemical detection of phenolic contaminants			Type	Doctoral thesis
	Year	2022	Publication		Abbreviated Journal
	Volume		Issue		Pages	234 p.
	Keywords	Doctoral thesis; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	Phenolic compounds can be found everywhere in our daily lives but exhibit high toxicity, low (bio)degradability and hormone-disrupting effects when they are released in the environment. It is for this reason imperative to develop detection strategies for these pollutants. A promising approach involves the use of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. In this sensor, a photosensitiser (PS) type II, which generates 1O2 under illumination, is used to oxidise phenolic compounds present in the sample. The oxidised phenols are reduced at the electrode surface leading to the generation of an electrocatalytic redox cycle. In this thesis, an in-depth understanding, through the identification of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the PEC sensing mechanism, is obtained. The detection strategy is optimised by choosing the PS with the highest 1O2 production and by optimising the detection parameters so that the PEC sensor can be successfully applied for the detection of phenols in industrial samples. First, it was determined that the use of highly fluorinated zinc phthalocyanine derivatives, F52PcZn and F64PcZn, as photocatalysts was optimal for the sensing of phenol due to their high 1O2 production and improved single-site isolation. However, next to 1O2, it was shown that the ROS O2•- and H2O2 were also generated in the PEC sensor. Their contribution to the photocurrent response was studied by rotating disk electrode measurements in function of the pH and applied potential. After this, the PEC detection strategy was optimised in terms of pH and applied potential for the detection of doxycycline, cefadroxil, and phenol. It was found that the use of alkaline pH-levels led to nmol L-1-level detection limits. The combination with square wave voltammetry (SWV) was, also, proposed to allow the quantification and identification of phenolic compounds in a specific sample. At last, the developed PEC and SWV sensors were applied for the measurement of phenolic compounds in industrial water samples. The PEC sensor could follow the decrease of the phenolic concentration throughout the wastewater treatment process while the SWV sensor provided the electrochemical fingerprints of these samples. The thesis concluded that the use of the PEC sensor was advantageous in the measurement of lower concentrated phenolic samples due to its high sensitivity and fast measurement time in comparison to commercial test kits.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos		Publication Date
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:187029			Serial	8932
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Pankratova, G.; Bollella, P.; Pankratov, D.; Gorton, L.
	Title	Supercapacitive biofuel cells			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Current opinion in biotechnology	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	73	Issue		Pages	179-187
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	Supercapacitive biofuel cells' (SBFCs) most recent advancements are herein disclosed. In conventional SBFCs the biocomponent is employed as the pseudocapacitive component, while in self-charging biodevices it also works as the biocatalyst. The performance of different types of SBFCs are summarized according to the categorization based on the biocatalyst employed: supercapacitive microbial fuel cells (sMFCs), supercapacitive biophotovoltaics (SBPV) and supercapacitive enzymatic fuel cells (s-EFCs). SBFCs could be considered as promising 'alternative' energy devices (low-cost, environmentally friendly, and technically undemanding electric power sources etc.) being suitable for powering a new generation of miniaturized electronic applications.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000760339100024	Publication Date	2021-09-01
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0958-1669	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:187287			Serial	8937
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Parrilla, M.; Detamornrat, U.; Domínguez-Robles, J.; Donnelly, R.F.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Wearable hollow microneedle sensing patches for the transdermal electrochemical monitoring of glucose			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Talanta : the international journal of pure and applied analytical chemistry	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	249	Issue		Pages	123695-123699
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	According to the World Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, with 1.5 million deaths directly attributed each year. Therefore, there is still a need to effectively monitor glucose in diabetic patients for proper management. Recently, wearable patches based on microneedle (MN) sensors provide minimally invasive analysis of glucose through the interstitial fluid (ISF) while exhibiting excellent correlation with blood glucose. Despite many advances in wearable electrochemical sensors, long-term stability and continuous monitoring remain unsolved challenges. Herein, we present a highly stable electrochemical biosensor based on a redox mediator bilayer consisting of Prussian blue and iron-nickel hexacyanoferrate to increase the long-term stability of the readout coupled with a hollow MN array as a sampling unit for ISF uptake. First, the enzymatic biosensor is developed by using affordable screen-printed electrodes (SPE) and optimized for long-term stability fitting the physiological range of glucose in ISF (i.e., 2.5–22.5 mM). In parallel, the MN array is assessed for minimally invasive piercing of the skin. Subsequently, the biosensor is integrated with the MN array leaving a microfluidic spacer that works as the electrochemical cell. Interestingly, a microfluidic channel connects the cell with an external syringe to actively and rapidly withdraw ISF toward the cell. Finally, the robust MN sensing patch is characterized during in vitro and ex vivo tests. Overall, affordable wearable MN-based patches for the continuous monitoring of glucose in ISF are providing an advent in wearable devices for rapid and life-threatening decision-making processes.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000826441800002	Publication Date	2022-06-16
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0039-9140; 1873-3573	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:188955			Serial	8955
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	Author	Parrilla, M.; Vanhooydonck, A.; Watts, R.; De Wael, K.
	Title	Wearable wristband-based electrochemical sensor for the detection of phenylalanine in biofluids			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	Biosensors and bioelectronics	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	197	Issue		Pages
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Product development; Antwerp Electrochemical and Analytical Sciences Lab (A-Sense Lab)
	Abstract	Wearable electrochemical sensors are driven by the user-friendly capability of on-site detection of key biomarkers for health management. Despite the advances in biomolecule monitoring such as glucose, still, several unmet clinical challenges need to be addressed. For example, patients suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU) should be able to monitor their phenylalanine (PHE) level in a rapid, decentralized, and affordable manner to avoid high levels of PHE in the body which can lead to a profound and irreversible mental disability. Herein, we report a wearable wristband electrochemical sensor for the monitoring of PHE tackling the necessity of controlling PHE levels in PHE hydroxylase deficiency patients. The proposed electrochemical sensor is based on a screen-printed electrode (SPE) modified with a membrane consisting of Nafion, to avoid interferences in biofluids. The membrane also consists of sodium 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulphonate for the in situ derivatization of PHE into an electroactive product, allowing its electrochemical oxidation at the surface of the SPE in alkaline conditions. Importantly, the electrochemical sensor is integrated into a wristband configuration to enhance user interaction and engage the patient with PHE self-monitoring. Besides, a paper-based sampling strategy is designed to alkalinize the real sample without the need for sample pretreatment, and thus simplify the analytical process. Finally, the wearable device is tested for the determination of PHE in saliva and blood serum. The proposed wristband-based sensor is expected to impact the PKU self-monitoring, facilitating the daily lives of PKU patients toward optimal therapy and disease management.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000719366400003	Publication Date	2021-11-02
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0956-5663	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:183086			Serial	8957
Permanent link to this record