Welcome
The ChemSense lab aims to address detection challenges related to sensitivity, selectivity, portability, and availability in environmental preservation and human health. We strive to accomplish this by developing cutting-edge chemical sensing devices and chemical analysis methods.
News and Highlights
- 8/14/2025: Franky presented his SURF project on nanosensors for cellular ion sensing at the Annual Student Summer Showcase.
- 04/04/2025: Undergraduate Raid presented his research on developing nanosensors for electrolytes at the 15th Annual UG Research Symposium.
- 03/25/2025: Our group received an FAU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to support undergraduate student Franky Petion in continuing his research in the summer of 2025.
- 02/24/2025: Our second paper in the series on ionophore-based electrolyte SERS sensing, titled "Development of a MXene-AgNPs-Based SERS Platform for Ionophore-Based Ion-Selective Detection'" has been published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.
- 1/28/2025: We are grateful to have received the FAU Research Cores Internal Pilot (RCIP) Award for our proposal focusing on optode-based nano sensor development.
- 1/23/2025: Congratulations to Riad Rustamov on receiving the FAU Undergraduate Research Grant to continue his research on ultrasensitive ion detection with our group.
- 12/11/2024: Our paper "Spectroscopic and calorimetric study of the interaction between Nile Blue and double-stranded RNA" has been accepted in Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports.
- 11/14/2024: Middle school student Shweta Allani from A.D. Henderson University School presented her research project 'Designing a Home-based Sodium Ion Detection System' at Palm Beach Regional Science & Engineering Fair.
By combining detailed experimental approaches and mechanistic insights, this study addresses the largely overlooked binding interactions of Nile Blue with dsRNA and establishes a framework for future investigations into RNA-ligand interactions.
- 10/21/2024: Our paper "Ionophore-Based SERS Sensing for Electrolyte Cations" was accepted in Analytical Chemistry.
- 09/01/2024: Robert Zamojski and Lola Hunt have joined our group as undergraduate research assistants, while Riad Rustamov and Vienna Wells will be conducting Directed Independent Research (DIR) this semester in our group. Welcome aboard!
- 8/20/2024: Nicolas Salas, one of our undergraduate students, had his poster presentation at the Summer Student Showcase highlighted in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science news. Read more
In this paper, we demonstrated the feasibility of using SERS for ion sensing with Chromoionophore I (CHI) as the indicator. We also elucidated the mechanism behind the variation in SERS intensity of CHI during the sensing process.
- 08/05/2024: We are grateful to receive the FAU i-SENSE/CoECS Seed grant to conduct a preliminary study on portable electrolyte sensors.
- 7/12/2024: Middle school students from the 2024 Crystal Summer School program visited our lab to learn about the principle and preparation of colorimetric sensors.
- 5/23/2024: Luciana Espinoza, a high school student from Saint Andrew's School, has joined our group as a student volunteer. Welcome!
- 4/02/2024: Our group received an FAU Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to support undergraduate student Nicolas Salas in continuing his research in the summer of 2024.
- 1/22/2024: Ph.D. student Shankar Dhar joined our group. Welcome!
- 11/20/2023: Dr. Laiqi Zhang joined the group as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Zhang has extensive expertise in developing new materials and chemical sensors. Welcome!
- 10/20/2023: NSF F-LEARN Program undergraduate students Franky Petion and Nicolas Salas from the Department of Biological Sciences joined the lab. Welcome!
- 09/29/2023: Dr. Wang is currently serving as a guest editor for a Special Issue titled "Recent Innovations in Biosensors for Chemical Analysis" in the journal Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors/special_issues/T6D7KX3588
- 08/21/2023: Graduate student Zhiyu (Nancy) Tang, undergraduate student Yanna Pusica, FAU high school student Rinshin Piedrahita joined our group. Welcome!
- 08/09/2023: Dr. Wang (PI) and Dr. Ilyas Yildirim (Co-PI) received FAU i-SENSE/CoECS Seed grant for a preliminary study of new electrode material and nucleic acid interaction.
- 07/18/2023: High school students Elena Zhu and Daniela Cifuentes Cabrera joined the lab.
- 07/17/2023: Dr. Wang gave a talk at the Crystal Summer School on Sensors and Chemical Sensors organized by Dr. Vivian Merk.
- 07/14/2023: Ph.D. student Md Dulal Hossain Khan joined our group.
- 06/07/2023: Our main lab, SE43-105, is ready for move-in. Ph.D. student Usha Grewal and high school student Ken Liu joined the group in the spring semester.
- 03/15/2023: Dr. Wang (PI) and Dr. Xingquan (Hill) Zhu (Co-PI) received funding from the Jumpstart Postdoctoral Program for a new multi-disciplinary research initiative.
- 10/17/2022: Dr. Renjie Wang officially joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida Atlantic University as an assistant professor.
