Dies academicus 2020
UDE chemist awarded
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Dr. Vi Tran from University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) was awarded for the best doctorate in 2019 in the Faculty of Chemistry. She was a PhD student in the working group of Materials Chain member Prof. Sebastian Schlücker. This year, the Dies academicus could not take place in front of an audience as usual, so congratulations were sent to the winners by video.
In her work she developed a highly sensitive and quantitative rapid test (LFA) for patient-oriented laboratory diagnostics. Tests of this kind can be carried out and directly evaluated in the presence of the patient, and do not have to go to a central laboratory. This is particularly important in emergency medicine, for example.
Tran combined the previous test method with the advantages of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The result: By using SERS-active nanoparticles as markers and a portable Raman/SERS reader developed in the research group, a rapid test was realized that is highly sensitive and quantifiable and enables parallel detection through multiplexing. This is a major developmental advance for the LFA technology.
Every year, the UDE's Dies academicus awards prizes for the best bachelor's and master's theses and outstanding doctorates. This year the event was held online due to the current situation.