Electrical and Electronic Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemAn ab-initio Computational Method to Determine Dielectric Properties of Biological Materials(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2013-05-08)Frequency dependent dielectric properties are important for understanding the structure and dynamics of biological materials. These properties can be used to study underlying biological processes such as changes in the concentration of biological materials, and the formation of chemical species. Computer simulations can be used to determine dielectric properties and atomic details inaccessible via experimental methods. In this paper, a unified theory utilizing molecular dynamics and density functional theory is presented that is able to determine the frequency dependent dielectric properties of biological materials in an aqueous solution from their molecular structure alone. The proposed method, which uses reaction field approximations, does not require a prior knowledge of the static dielectric constant of the material. The dielectric properties obtained from our method agree well with experimental values presented in the literature.
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ItemA Label-Free, Quantitative Fecal Hemoglobin Detection Platform for Colorectal Cancer Screening(MDPI, 2017-06)The early detection of colorectal cancer is vital for disease management and patient survival. Fecal hemoglobin detection is a widely-adopted method for screening and early diagnosis. Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) is favored over the older generation chemical based Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) as it does not require dietary or drug restrictions, and is specific to human blood from the lower digestive tract. To date, no quantitative FIT platforms are available for use in the point-of-care setting. Here, we report proof of principle data of a novel low cost quantitative fecal immunochemical-based biosensor platform that may be further developed into a point-of-care test in low-resource settings. The label-free prototype has a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 10 µg hemoglobin per gram (Hb/g) of feces, comparable to that of conventional laboratory based quantitative FIT diagnostic systems.
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ItemEnvironmentally friendly power generator based on moving liquid dielectric and double layer effect(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2016-06-03)An electrostatic power generator converts mechanical energy to electrical energy by utilising the principle of variable capacitance. This change in capacitance is usually achieved by varying the gap or overlap between two parallel metallic plates. This paper proposes a novel electrostatic micro power generator where the change in capacitance is achieved by the movement of an aqueous solution of NaCl. A significant change in capacitance is achieved due to the higher than air dielectric constant of water and the Helmholtz double layer capacitor formed by ion separation at the electrode interfaces. The proposed device has significant advantages over traditional electrostatic devices which include low bias voltage and low mechanical frequency of operation. This is critical if the proposed device is to have utility in harvesting power from the environment. A figure of merit exceeding 10000(10(8)μW)/(mm(2)HzV(2)) which is two orders of magnitude greater than previous devices, is demonstrated for a prototype operating at a bias voltage of 1.2 V and a droplet frequency of 6 Hz. Concepts are presented for large scale power harvesting.