Academic Staff
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Dr Conor Hogan BSc Cork, PhD Dublin, MRACI Lecturer
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Research Interests
Research in our group is focused on expanding the bounds of Analytical Chemistry. We seek to develop new chemistries and new technologies which will result in exquisitely low detection limits, enhanced selectivity and miniaturised instruments which can be used outside of the laboratory setting.Electrochemiluminescence-on-a-Chip
Miniaturisation is a continuing theme in
analytical chemistry as with many areas of science. Miniaturised sensors which allow testing in the field without recourse to time intensive, expensive laboratory procedures are playing an increasingly important role in many areas of society from forensic science to point of care diagnostics. The objective of this project is to develop an analytical instrument no bigger than a mobile phone suitable for real world sensing applications; specifically the rapid, sensitive and selective quantitation of pharmaceuticals such as alkaloids and antibiotics. Electrochemiluminescence-on-a-chip using microelectrode array platforms fabricated at CSIRO.
Synthesis and sensing applications of highly luminescent complexes of Ruthenium, Iridium and Platinum
Cyclometallated Ir(III) complexes such as Ir(ppy)3 and Ir(ppy)2(N^N)+ where ppy = 2-phenylpyridine and N^N is a derivative of bipyridine or phenanthroline, display an intriguing combination of luminescent and electrochemical properties. The electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of these compounds, where the excited state is formed by applying a suitable voltage, has recently been demonstrated to be quite exceptional. We have identified a synthetic strategy which allows us to quite easily vary the characteristics of these complexes by varying one or more of the ligands. For example the colour of the emission can be varied from green to red. There is a vast range of possibilities for novel, highly luminescent sensing molecules based on bis- or tris- cyclometallated complexes such as those shown below. We will exploit the exceptional properties of the compounds we synthesise to form the basis of a highly sensitive analytical technique for the determination of selected analytes such as codeine, morphine and ß-lactam antibiotics.
Nanostructured Luminescent interfaces for sensing applications
The detection of biologically and environmentally relevant molecules, at ultralow concentration (sub-nanomolar), demands the development of novel transduction approaches. Iridium and Ruthenium complexes have exceptional luminescent and electrochemical properties, characteristics highly favorable for sensing strategies which exploit both of these properties e.g. electrochemiluminescent (ECL) sensing. By functionalising such molecules with surface active groups, 2D molecular assemblies can be formed on electrode surfaces, see Figure. This project focuses on the synthesis and immobilisation of the luminescent species with a view to their analytical application as nanostructured sensing layers.
Flow Injection Analysis (FIA): Rapid, sensitive Detection of pharmaceuticals by ECL
