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Congratulations and good luck with your important work!

 

The main goal of Raimonda's thesis was to evaluate the possibility of modifying the properties of polypyrrole (a specific large molecule) to create an electrochemical sensor. For this purpose, the polypyrrole layer was modified with derivatives of the chemical compound phenothiazine or molecular imprints.

 

By the way, molecular imprints, also known as molecular "fingerprints", is a promising technology that R. Bogužaitė presented last year at the Tyrėjų Grand Prix science popularisation competition - and won first place! You can read more about it by clicking on this link.

 

The thesis analyses various modifications that could be applied to develop an electrochemical sensor for the detection of various analytes (substances) - pollutants, allergens, diseases, etc. In particular, the sensor designs discussed in the thesis have been analysed for the detection of ascorbic acid, xanthine derivatives, SARS-CoV-2 spike (SARS-CoV-2-S) protein and methylene blue.

 

 

 

"Electrochemical sensors play an important role in a wide range of industries and applications, as they can detect and quantify specific chemical compounds or elements. They are used for environmental monitoring, healthcare and medical applications, industrial processes, safety and other purposes.

 

The market for electrochemical sensors is expanding rapidly due to technological advances, increased environmental regulations and growing healthcare needs. For these reasons, our work is of great relevance and importance to society, especially in the face of pandemics and other situations where rapid and high quality detection of substances is needed," says Raimonda, the new PhD.

 

She is pleased that the modification of the polypyrrole layer with phenothiazine derivatives and polysaccharides has had a positive effect, in particular with the use of heparin additive; the latter's effect in the polymerisation solution has contributed to better adhesion of the layer, thus solving a number of technical problems.

 

"And perhaps the most significant result is that molecular imprinting technology has produced an imprinted polypyrrole layer that shows its versatility in practice and has potential as a sensor for the SARS-CoV-2-S spike protein," says Raimonda.

 

Raimonda Bogužaitė's dissertation is available at:

 

Before the defence - https://is.vu.lt/pls/pub/ivykiai.ivykiai_prd?p_name=C69820460945F782DC4B1241DEDC5FB0/BOGUZAITE%20%20Raimonda.pdf

 

After the defence - https://doi.org/10.15388/vu.thesis.665