THURSDAY 14 September, 4 PM CET (Hybrid Webinar)
Dr. Carlos Leónidas Leiva
Postdoctoral researcher at AMGC, VUB
Abstract:
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic compounds that are known for their oxidative and proinflammatory activities, which may be implicated in carcinogenic processes. These compounds are a risk to the environment because they can persist and accumulate in soil and sediment, posing a threat to the ecosystem. However, analyzing PAHs in environmental samples using traditional methods such as HPLC and GC still remains a challenge because it requires sophisticated equipment and complicated sample preparation steps. This is why we aimed to develop IgY antibodies with high affinity against PAHs in general and optimize an ELISA technique to allow a rapid, simultaneous determination of PAHs. As antibody-based immunoassays are low cost, rapid, and sensitive, in this seminar, I will discuss the optimization of an ELISA based on IgY antibodies for the detection of environmental contaminants.