Estefanía Costa-Rama

Bio: Estefanía Costa-Rama is an academic researcher from University of Oviedo. The author has contributed to research in topics: Working electrode & Medicine. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 26 publications receiving 425 citations. Previous affiliations of Estefanía Costa-Rama include Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto.

Disposable Sensors in Diagnostics, Food, and Environmental Monitoring.

Abstract: Disposable sensors are low-cost and easy-to-use sensing devices intended for short-term or rapid single-point measurements. The growing demand for fast, accessible, and reliable information in a vastly connected world makes disposable sensors increasingly important. The areas of application for such devices are numerous, ranging from pharmaceutical, agricultural, environmental, forensic, and food sciences to wearables and clinical diagnostics, especially in resource-limited settings. The capabilities of disposable sensors can extend beyond measuring traditional physical quantities (for example, temperature or pressure); they can provide critical chemical and biological information (chemo- and biosensors) that can be digitized and made available to users and centralized/decentralized facilities for data storage, remotely. These features could pave the way for new classes of low-cost systems for health, food, and environmental monitoring that can democratize sensing across the globe. Here, a brief insight into the materials and basics of sensors (methods of transduction, molecular recognition, and amplification) is provided followed by a comprehensive and critical overview of the disposable sensors currently used for medical diagnostics, food, and environmental analysis. Finally, views on how the field of disposable sensing devices will continue its evolution are discussed, including the future trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Voltammetric immunosensor for the simultaneous analysis of the breast cancer biomarkers CA 15-3 and HER2-ECD

Abstract: Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and the extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2-ECD) are independent breast cancer biomarkers. The combination of their profiles (presence and concentration) could provide an important contribution to diagnostics and patient follow-up. Therefore, a disposable electrochemical immunosensor for the simultaneous detection of CA 15-3 and HER2-ECD was developed in this work. The immunosensor was constructed on a customized dual screen-printed carbon electrode. The carbon working electrodes' surfaces were first modified with in situ electrodeposited gold nanoparticles and then individually coated with either a monoclonal anti-human CA 15-3 or a monoclonal anti-human HER2-ECD antibody. After incubation with the biomarkers and monoclonal biotin-labelled detection antibodies, the antigen-antibody interactions were detected by linear sweep voltammetric analysis of enzymatically (alkaline phosphatase) generated metallic silver. The immunosensor’s limits of detection for the selected biomarkers were 5.0 U mL −1 for CA 15-3 and 2.9 ng mL −1 for HER2-ECD. These values could allow the use of the sensor in the non-invasive control of these biomarkers in breast cancer patients.

A Review on Biosensors and Recent Development of Nanostructured Materials-Enabled Biosensors.

Abstract: A biosensor is an integrated receptor-transducer device, which can convert a biological response into an electrical signal The design and development of biosensors have taken a center stage for researchers or scientists in the recent decade owing to the wide range of biosensor applications, such as health care and disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring, water and food quality monitoring, and drug delivery The main challenges involved in the biosensor progress are (i) the efficient capturing of biorecognition signals and the transformation of these signals into electrochemical, electrical, optical, gravimetric, or acoustic signals (transduction process), (ii) enhancing transducer performance ie, increasing sensitivity, shorter response time, reproducibility, and low detection limits even to detect individual molecules, and (iii) miniaturization of the biosensing devices using micro-and nano-fabrication technologies Those challenges can be met through the integration of sensing technology with nanomaterials, which range from zero- to three-dimensional, possessing a high surface-to-volume ratio, good conductivities, shock-bearing abilities, and color tunability Nanomaterials (NMs) employed in the fabrication and nanobiosensors include nanoparticles (NPs) (high stability and high carrier capacity), nanowires (NWs) and nanorods (NRs) (capable of high detection sensitivity), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (large surface area, high electrical and thermal conductivity), and quantum dots (QDs) (color tunability) Furthermore, these nanomaterials can themselves act as transduction elements This review summarizes the evolution of biosensors, the types of biosensors based on their receptors, transducers, and modern approaches employed in biosensors using nanomaterials such as NPs (eg, noble metal NPs and metal oxide NPs), NWs, NRs, CNTs, QDs, and dendrimers and their recent advancement in biosensing technology with the expansion of nanotechnology

Strategies to approach high performance in Cr 3+ -doped phosphors for high-power NIR-LED light sources.

Abstract: Broadband near-infrared (NIR)-emitting phosphors are key for next-generation smart NIR light sources based on blue LEDs. To achieve excellent NIR phosphors, we propose a strategy of enhancing the crystallinity, modifying the micromorphology, and maintaining the valence state of Cr3+ in Ca3Sc2Si3O12 garnet (CSSG). By adding fluxes and sintering in a reducing atmosphere, the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is greatly enhanced to 92.3%. The optimized CSSG:6%Cr3+ exhibits excellent thermal stability. At 150 °C, 97.4% of the NIR emission at room temperature can be maintained. The fabricated NIR-LED device emits a high optical power of 109.9 mW at 520 mA. The performances of both the achieved phosphor and the NIR-LED are almost the best results until now. The mechanism for the optimization is investigated. An application of the NIR-LED light source is demonstrated. A near-infrared light-emitting (NIR-LED) diode that emits high-power light could pave the way for the development of next-generation monitoring and detecting devices. Although solid-state NIR-LEDs are used in such devices, their narrow emission band limits their range of applications. Broadband NIR-emitting phosphor-converted LEDs offer the best solution. However, creating NIR phosphors that are sufficiently excited by blue light is challenging. Now, a team of Chinese and American researchers, led by Yongfu Liu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has created a NIR-LED that emits light in the 700–900 nm with an output of 109.9 mW at 520 mA after excitation with blue light. The device has the highest recorded power rating to date and could be used in applications from bioimaging and night-vision technologies, to monitoring food and medicines.