Nanobioelectronics & Biosensors Group

Arben Merkoçi

Group Leader. Professor of Research.

arben.merkoci.icn (at) uab.es / +34 93 581 1976 / fax 2379 / secretariat 4408 / See picture

Short CV

• Research Professor & Group Leader, Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group, Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN), Barcelona, since 2006.
• Ramon y Cajal Researcher, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 2004-2006.
• Senior Scientist & Laboratory manager of Sensochip Laboratory, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, NMSU, New Mexico, USA, 2002.
• Invited Professor, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, 1997-2001, 2003.
• Postdoctoral fellow, Polytechnic University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 1995.
• Postdoctoral fellow, Dipartimento di Chimica Analitica ed Inorganica, Universita degli Studi di Padova, Italy, 1993-1994.
• Lecturer & Scientific researcher, Department of Analytical Chemistry, University of Tirana, Albania, 1986-1992, 1996.
• PhD, Tirana University, 1986-1991 (Spanish equivalency received by MEC, 2000).
• Diploma in Chemistry at Tirana University, 1981-1986 (Spanish equivalency received by MEC, 2000).

Full curriculum

Catalan (AQU) & Spanish (ANECA) research accreditations

• Advanced research accreditation (AQU Catalunya) 2005.
• Professor Dr. accreditation (ANECA) 2003.

Research interests

Bionanostructures, Nanomaterials with electrochemical properties, DNA sensors, Immunosensors, Enzyme based sensors, Carbon Nanotubes for sensor applications.

Awards and memberships

• Winner of the Electrochemistry Communications Award 2005, in acknowledgment of high quality and best cited paper: “Low-potential stable NADH detection at carbon-nanotube modified glassy carbon electrodes, Electrochemistry Communications, 4 743-746 (2002)
• Member of Catalan Society of Chemistry
• Member of New York Academy of Science, 1996
• Member of American Electrochemical Society, 1996
• Ministry of Science and Education of Spain visiting Professor Scholarships, 2001, 2002, 2003.
• Generalitat of Catalunya Visiting Professor Scholarship, December 2000-December 2001.
• Generalitat of Catalunya postdoctoral Scholarship, January 1995-January 1996
• University of Padova Scholarship, given on the base of competition between researchers of East European Countries and Austria, April 1993-October 1994.
• Hungarian Academy of Sciences Scholarship (by special recommendation of Prof. Pungor), and University of Ioannina (Greece) Scholarship during 1992 - 1993

Projects

• “Desarrollo de nuevas bionanoestructuras inteligentes para biosensores moleculares de interés medioambiental, Fundación Ramón Areces, XIII Concurso nacional para la adjudicación de ayudas a la investigación científica y técnica. 2004-2007
• “Los Quantum Dots modificados biológicamente como bionanoestructuras inteligentes para el desarrollo de nuevos sistemas de detección, incluyendo su integración en un lab-on-a-chip (MEC, MAT2004-05164)
• “Nanopartículas modificadas para análisis proteómico rápido basado en inmunoensayos con tecnologías de codificación electroquímica multiplex y lab-on-a-chip” (MEC, MAT2005-03553/).
• “WATER RISK MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE” (). Project Acronym: WARMER, Project Reference:FP6-034472-2005-IST-5, Contract Type: Specific Targeted Research, Project (STREP), Start Date: 01/09/2006, Duration: 36 months, End Date: 31/08/2009. Coordinator: Dr. Luca Sanfilippo, Systems Technology Advance Srl, SYSTEA, Italy.
• “NANOTECHNOLOGIES IN BIOMEDICINE”, CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010, CONVOCATORIA 2006, COORDINATOR: Manuel Ricardo Ibarra García, Nanoscience Institute of Aragon, Spain.

Selected publications

Electrochemical stripping detection of DNA hybridization based on cadmium sulfide nanoparticle tags

Joseph Wang, Guodong Liu, Ronen Polsky and Arben Merkoci, Electrochemistry Communication, 4 722-726 (2002)

Low-potential stable NADH detection at carbon-nanotube modified glassy carbon electrodes

Joseph Wang, Mustafa Musameh, Arben Merkoci, Yuehe Lin, Electrochemistry Communication, 4 743-746 (2002)

Particle-based Detection of DNA Hybridization using Electrochemical Stripping Measurements of an iron Tracer

Joseph Wang, Guodong Liu, and Arben Merkoci, Analytical Chimica Acta, 482 149-155 (2003)

Electroactive beads for ultrasensitive DNA detection

Joseph Wang, Ronen Polsky, Arben Merkoci and Kathy L. Turner, Langmuir, 19 989-991 (2003)

Composite and biocomposite materials for electrochemical sensing

S. Alegret and A. Merkoçi, S. Alegret, ed., Integrated analytical systems, Amsterdam, Elsevier, 2003, pp 377-412 ISBN: 0-444-51037-0 (NL)

Electrochemical Coding Technology for simultaneous detection of multiple DNA targets

Joseph Wang, Guodong Liu, and Arben Merkoçi, Journal of American Chemical Society, 125 3214-3215 (2003)

Toward nanoanalytical chemistry. Case of nanomaterial integration into (bio)sensing systems

A.Merkoçi, S. Alegret, Contribution to Science, 3 (1), 57–66 (2005)

Nanoscience and nanotechnology in Catalonia

S.Alegret, A.Merkoçi ed., Special Issue of Contribution to Science, Printed by Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barcelona, 2005

New materials for electrochemical sensing. V. Nanoparticles for DNA labelling

A. Merkoçi, M. Aldavert, S. Marín, S. Alegret, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 24 341-349 (2005)

Toward an ICPMS-linked DNA assay based on gold nanoparticles immunoconnected through peptide sequences

A. Merkoçi, M. Aldavert, Gema Tarrasón, Ramon Eritja, S. Alegret, Analytical Chemistry, 77,6500-6503 (2005)

Direct voltammetric determination of gold nanoparticles using graphite-epoxy composite electrode

Martin Pumera, Marta Aldavert, Cris Mills Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Electrochimica Acta, 50 3702–3707 (2005)

New materials for electrochemical sensing VI. Carbon nanotubes

Arben Merkoçi, Martin Pumera, Xavier Llopis, Briza Perez, Manuel del Valle, Salvador Alegret, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 24, 826-838 (2005)

Magnetically trigged direct electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization based Au67 Quantum Dot – DNA – paramagnetic bead conjugate

Martin Pumera, Maria Teresa Castañeda, Maria Isabel Pividori, Ramon Eritja, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Langmuir 21, 9625-9629 (2005)

Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis-Electrochemistry with Rigid Graphite-Epoxy Composite Detector

Martin Pumera, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Electroanalysis, 18, 207 – 210 (2006)

DNA detection platforms by using nanoparticles as quantitation tags or encoded hosts

Arben Merkoçi, G.I.T. Laboratory Journal Europe, 9 48-50 (2005)

Glucose Biosensor Based on Carbon Nanotube Epoxy Composites

Briza Pérez, Martin Pumera, Manel del Valle, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 5, 1694–1698 (2005)

New materials for electrochemical sensing VII. Chip microfluidic platforms

Martin Pumera, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 25, 219-235 (2006)

Carbon nanotubes in analytical sciences. A review

Arben Merkoçi, Microchimica Acta, 152, 157–174 (2006)

Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis with a Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube/Gold Electrochemical Detector for Determination of Aminophenols and Neurotransmiters

Martin Pumera, Xavier Llopis, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret,Microchimica Acta, 152, 261–265 (2006)

Crystal and electrochemical properties of water dispersed CdS nanocrystals obtained via reverse micelles and arrested precipitation

Arben Merkoçi, Sergio Marín, María Teresa Castañeda, Martin Pumera, Josep Ros, Salvador Alegret, Nanotechnology 17 2553–2559 (2006)

Carbon nanotube-epoxy composites for electrochemical sensing

Martin Pumera, Arben Merkoçi, Salvador Alegret, Sensors & Actuators B, 113 617–622 (2006)

Carbon Nanotubes: Exciting New Materials for Microanalysis and Sensing

Arben Merkoçi ed., Special Issue in Microchimica Acta, Springer Verlag Wien, 152, 2006

Electrochemical genosensors for biomedical applications based on gold nanoparticles

M.T. Castañeda, A. Merkoçi, M. Pumera, S. Alegret, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2006, Available on line. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2006.08.031

Invited guest editior of special journal issues and books

1. A.Merkoçi, S.Alegret ed., “Analytical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology”, Guest Editors of the Special Issue of Contribution to Science, 2005
2. A.Merkoçi, Ed. “Carbon nanotubes in Chemistry”, Special Issue of Microchimica Acta, 2005
3. A.Merkoçi, Ed. “Nanobiomaterials”, Special Issue of Electronalysis, 2006 (prepared)
4. S.Alegret & A.Merkoci ed. “Electrochemical Sensor Analysis”, Elsevier, 2006 (in press)