Professor Sam Adeloju

Professor Sam Adeloju works in the NanoScience and Sensor Technology Research Group and is also Head of Monash Univeristy's Applied Sciences and Engineering at Gippsland.

He and his research group are focused on the interface between nanoscience and sensor technology. Using molecular and multidimensional approaches through a range of electrochemical techniques, the group has developed composite and nanocomposite biosensors for environmental, clinical and industrial process monitoring. In particular, Professor Adeloju has developed a range of biosensors to detect urea in blood samples, sulfite in wine, beer and food, phosphate, nitrate or formate in water, soil and other environmental materials; glucose in food and beverages, penicillinase in pharmaceutical tablets and milk samples and cholesterol in blood samples and food.

Nanotechnology has played a large part in the design of the biosensor's active component. Nanoparticles were incorporated to improve the robustness and sensitivity of the biosensors. In addition, nanolayers of a conducting polymer were used to trap bioactive components which target particular enzymes.

"Once we have identified the right enzymes for a particular substance we want to detect, we then wrap the polymer nanolayer around the enzyme and the nanoparticles, embedding them in the skin of the polymer so that they can be used successfully for rapid detection of the substance."

The group's developments have attracted international interest, as the nanobiosensors are capable of achieving a high degree of selectivity and sensitivity for a wide range of substances. They are also low cost and portable, making them attractive as reliable analytical devices for the rapid measurement of organic and inorganic substances in environmental, clinical/biological, geological and industrial materials.

Professor Adeloju's research has had a significant impact on both business and society. In the instance of climate change, accurate and prompt analysis of water quality is now possible. "Being able to measure nutrient and salinity levels immediately after flooding will be extremely important in providing rapid responses. We will also achieve more sustainable water management practices and clean water supplies in the future."  Work on this particular biosensor has been developed with assistance from Nanotechnology Victoria.

The NanoScience and Technology Group, which includes many Ph.D students, has established other important collaborations. The fabrication of biosensors has been completed in conjunction with Dr Qaisar Ameer (Applied Sciences and Engineering at Monash). In his general sensor-related research on nanoscience and  environmental technology, Professor Adeloju works with Monash's Dr Walid Daoud from Organic Chemistry and Associate Professor Tony Patti in the Department of Chemistry.

In their wider interests, the group is exploring a range of environmental technology to analyse pollutants, in particular chemical species in water, soil and air, and the impact of human activities in this area. The team is developing a flow injection system for the rapid and reliable spectrometric detection of heavy metals, like mercury and arsenic, in natural water and sediments.

Professor Adeloju is also investigating the transfer processes of nutrients, the impact of fire on mercury levels in plants and soil and the use of solid industrial wastes and fly ash for road base and construction materials.

Publications

S.B. Adeloju, "Tissue Based Sensors", in 'Encyclopaedia of Analytical Science', ed. P. Worsfold, A. Townshend and C. Poole, Vol. 2, Elsevier Press Ltd, Oxford, UK, (2005), pp 276-283.

Q. Ameer and S.B. Adeloju, “Polypyrrole-Based Electronic Noses for Environmental and Industrial Analysis”, Sensors & Actuators, B, 106, (2005), 541-552.

S.B. Adeloju, A. Ohanessian and D. Nguyen, “Electrosynthesis and Characterization of Composite Polypyrrole-Dextran-Sulfite Oxidase Films”, Synthetic Metals, 153, (2005), 17-20.

M. Sohail and S.B. Adeloju, “Electroimmobilization of Nitrate Reductase and Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide into Polypyrrole Films for Potentiometric Detection of Nitrate”, Sensors & Actuators, B, 133 (2008), 333-339.

Patents

Electrochemical Nanocomposite Biosensor System, Application No. 2007906759, (2007).