María Encarnación Lorenzo Abad is currently Full Professor in the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She received her degree in Chemistry in 1978 and her PhD degree in 1985 from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She made a post-doctoral stage at the Department of Chemistry at Dublin City University. In 1990 she was visiting scientist (NATO Program) to the Department of Chemistry in Cornell University. In 1998 she was invited by the members of the faculty of Tokio University of Agriculture and Technology as visiting professor in the Department of Applied Chemistry. She is the author/coauthor of more than 100 original research publications and several book chapters in the area of analytical chemistry and has received the award of Madri+d Foundation.
The group has interest in the following research lines:
1) Nanomaterials for Biosensor development: We have developed amperometric (bio)sensors with improved performance by the inclusion of nanomaterials, such as nanodiamonds, graphene, carbon nanotubes, carbon dots (Sensors and Actuators B. 2018, 267, 533; Sensors and Actuators B. 2018, 257, 226 and Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering (2017). ISBN 97801240954722016, 236, 773) and gold nanoparticles. These nanomaterials have also been chemically modified (Nano Research, 11 (2018) 6405).
2) Electrochemical indicators for DNA biosensors: the group has pioneering works in Spain concerning the development of redox indicators of hybridization event. These indicators have been successfully applied in the development of very selective DNA biosensor and of biosensor for the detection of gene mutations associated to important human diseases, such as CF. In particular we have recently employed successfully metallacarboranes (Chem. Eur. J. 2018, 24, 2) as redox indicators in DNA biosensor for the detection of different gene mutations.
3) Nanomaterials for the development of supercapacitors: Lastly, we are very interested in the application of 2D nanomaterials for the fabrication of energy storage devices. For example, graphene decorated SiC nanomaterial (graphene@SiC) (fabricated via an adiabatic process) has been physicochemically characterised then applied as a supercapacitor material and as an anode within a Li-ion battery (LIB) (Journal of Carbon Research. 2017, 3, 20).
4) Use of operando methods (Raman-electrochemistry, UV-V- electrochemistry) for the mechanistic dilucidation of electrochemically driven structural transformation or nanomaterial chemical modification (J. Phys. Chem. C 2018, 122, 12377−12383; Electrochimica Acta 2018, 298, 950-959).
Estefanía Enebral-Romero reached the Degree in Chemistry in 2020 from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, a Master degree in Clinical Trials Monitoring and Pharmaceutical Development in 2021 from Universidad Antonio de Nebrija and another one in Industrial Chemistry and Introduction to Chemical Research in 2022 from Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. She recently started her PhD in Applied Chemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Her research line is focused on the development of electrochemical (bio)sensors for the detection of different pathogens.
