UCF’s College of Sciences and its National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) are at the heart of the real science behind the real-life cases, along with the larger field that goes beyond criminal justice.

Why This Research Matters

Now, thanks to the work of UCF researchers, the field of forensic science around the world is receiving a massive boost of knowledge through the release of the “fantastic four” chemical standards; the four, hard biomaterials — nails, hair, bones and teeth — that provide a consistent and critical reference point for forensic anthropology and toxicology work.

“The creation of these standards is important because every aspect — especially in toxicology — is helpful to quantify data when looking at these biomaterials in the field,” says Matthieu Baudelet, an associate professor of chemistry at UCF affiliated with NCFS. “You have a sample you want to mimic and now there is a reference with these ‘fantastic four’ that you can use for analysis. We can help crime labs around the world to be more precise, avoiding wrong decisions when looking at evidence.”

Baudelet undertook the work of creating these standards in 2018 because he says it was a complex puzzle to solve and the work was necessary for improvements in forensic science.

“At the time, no one was working on this and we dared to find the answer and fill this scientific need in the field,” Baudelet says. “Forensic science is important today because there is always a need for answering questions on a number of topics. In our case, the research revolves around anthropology and toxicology. In forensic anthropology, work is often about solving crimes, but there’s also work in parallel to repatriate fallen soldiers from previous wars.”

Baudelet says that the new chemical standards will open doors to solve issues in toxicology or biomedical applications; for instance, the burgeoning market for hair analysis, which needs these standards.

How Laser Technology Is Shaping Forensic Science

Baudelet has led the development of these new standards through his work at NCFS. His background is in physics, optics and spectroscopy, and he’s found that interdisciplinary collaboration has helped move the field forward.

“Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) are widely accepted techniques for direct sampling of biological materials for elemental analysis, with increasing applications being reported over the recent years,” according to a study by Baudelet and his former postdoctoral scholar, Mauro Martinez, that was published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

LIBS is an analytical and versatile technique that utilizes a high-energy laser pulse to generate a plasma, which emits light, on the surface of a sample to help identify the elemental composition of the material. These laser-based techniques have provided opportunities for two doctoral students working alongside Baudelet on these standards to see better results.

“The portability of LIBS makes it useful worldwide,” says Kristen Livingston, who graduates this fall with her doctoral degree in chemistry. “I’ve traveled with the portable laser instrument to Romania and Hawaii and had the opportunity to work with bones and other skeletal remains in a variety of environments. The new standards and technology have the potential to make a global impact.”

Details about the new references have been published in Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy and the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.

“Having a reference material is important because you can compare new measurements to a known measurement, which facilitates a reliable outcome, especially in forensic science,” Livingston says. “You need trustworthy and reliable data to compare new measurements back to a known measurement.”

Applying Science to Justice

Kaitlyn Bonilla ’20 ’24MS, a chemistry alum and doctoral student graduating this fall, has worked on developing the chemical standard for hair samples. Her passion for forensic science began in high school watching one of her favorite television shows, Law & Order.

“A lot of people learn about forensics through TV shows and I was no different,” Bonilla says. “I wanted to be the next Olivia Benson [an NYPD officer from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]. I initially wanted to be a detective. I was interested in science and math and after taking a forensics class in high school, I thought, why don’t I apply science to the law?”

As an undergraduate student at UCF, she took a course in microscopy and learned about hair as a biologic material in forensic science.

“Hair as a matrix is so interesting because it provides a chronological record with its growth,” Bonilla says. “As hair grows, information grows along a hair strand. Using lasers, we can see that record of information. It’s been exciting to learn more about it.”

Bonilla says she is the first scientist in her family, and her studies have been supported through a National Institute of Justice fellowship, one of only eight UCF students selected since the fellowship’s inception in 2000.

“Thanks to this NIJ fellowship, I have been able to attend conferences and share my work, as well as conduct my studies in toxicology analysis,” Bonilla says.

Decoding Bones Through Chemistry

Baudelet’s other graduate student working on the “fantastic four” chemical standards is Kristen Livingston, who was similarly interested in forensic science watching it on TV.

“I watched NCIS and admired Abby [a chief forensic scientist] on the show,” says Livingston. “I appreciated the work that happened on those shows and how it made an impact on the community and in the justice system.”

She says that her interest in forensic science intersected with her English class during her senior year in high school.

“We had to write a paper about a topic we were passionate about and I wrote about The Innocence Project and how DNA is used to exonerate innocent individuals from prison sentences,” Livingston says. “These sentences may have resulted from improper forensic practices, so I wanted to improve the field of forensic science.”

She says the work she’s doing is important because applying chemistry to forensic anthropology provides another level of information about bones.

“Typically, forensic anthropologists study the physical bone — the shape or morphology — and they can get answers from the bones themselves. But chemically, there’s another world of information,” says Livingston. “Bones are an important matrix to study; if you think about tissues left behind when individuals die, bones last the longest. They can give you a lot of information about the individual they belonged to.”

Livingston says she’s not the first chemist in my family; her father inspired her as well.

“My father worked in the field of nuclear chemistry and I grew up seeing his passion and love for this process,” says Livingston. “Being able to have these conversations with him about my research and being able to bond with him over his love for chemistry, has meant a lot to me.”

Funder Information
This project was supported by Award No. AWD00005982, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Researcher Credentials
Matthieu Baudelet joined UCF’s Department of Chemistry and the National Center for Forensic Science in 2015. His work focuses on developing lased-based spectroscopic techniques for forensic applications, including the analysis of tire skid marks, pollen, and anthropological remains. He also leads efforts to create matrix-matched biomaterial standards for LIBS and LA-ICP-MS to improve quantitative analysis in forensic and biomedical research. Originally from France, Baudelet earned his Ph.D. in Laser and Spectroscopy from the University of Lyon.

That’s why infectious disease experts and chemists at the UCF College of Medicine and College of Sciences were recently awarded a $537,619 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create a low cost, accurate test that detects Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV at the same time.

The researchers are working to repurpose an existing electrochemical biosensor and apply that technology to quickly identify the viruses at the RNA level and quantify viral loads in resource-limited settings.

There is a worldwide need for such a test, as more than 300 million people live with the two forms of hepatitis and more than 40 million live with HIV, World Health Organization data shows. Access to faster and easy-to-use testing can reduce the spread of both viruses and help patients catch hepatitis earlier, reducing their risks of developing liver failure, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Simultaneous testing also has potential to remove barriers to patient care and help doctors better refine treatment plans.

“It’s very important to detect those viruses in the same sample because those viruses share the same route of transmission and it increases the chance that the same person may get multiple viruses,” says Yulia Gerasimova, an associate professor of chemistry working on this project. to know how to tailor the treatment for patients depending on if they have a co-infection or not.”

Quicker Results, Healthier Patients

Current diagnostics for both viruses require a blood test and analysis by a clinic or hospital lab. For that reason, testing is difficult in remote and resource-limited areas of the world, where getting results can take months.

During that time, undiagnosed patients get sicker and the disease may spread.

“I think the goal is to have something that’s accessible worldwide — regardless of the environment,” says College of Medicine researcher Daniel Ram, an assistant professor of infectious disease who is working on the project. “Having the capacity to detect multiple viruses at once really has potential to benefit everyone.”

Ram recalls growing up in Guyana where his mother was the director of a national clinic that could not process such patient samples on site.

“In order to quantify viruses and patient samples, we would have to ship the samples out to Miami or sometimes Trinidad and Tobago,” he says. “During shipping, those samples degraded and the possibility for failure is high. In the meantime, doctors didn’t know how to best treat the patients.”

The researchers hope to reshape patient care by creating a more accessible and affordable diagnostic that can be used at low resource settings, says Karin Chumbimuni-Torres associate professor of chemistry and project lead.

The Science Behind New Tests

Instead of the current blood test that measures the body’s immune response to each virus and the distinct viral load of each virus, the UCF researchers want to repurpose an existing electrochemical biosensor and apply that technology to quickly identify both viruses at the RNA level. They envision that collected samples, such as blood, can be screened with the sensor.

Chumbimuni-Torres developed similar technology to detect dengue fever and the Zika virus, and her preliminary positive results allowed her to receive the NIH grant for hepatitis and HIV.

The HIV virus often mutates so the UCF scientists programed their sensor to detect any strain of the disease.

“This is key,” Chumbimuni-Torres says. “HIV can mutate a lot so we made a technique that can detect any of the mutations.”

Because the biosensors conduct genetic testing on the viruses, the scientists can target all the different genetic sequences of both viruses.

“We want to quantify the virus so doctors can know how to treat patients,” Chumbimuni-Torres says.

Through this research, the team hopes to develop the technology that would work regardless of the source of viral genomes, Gerasimova says.

“We’re using something called isothermal amplification to amplify viral nucleic acids for them to be detected with virus-specific probes,” she says. “This project is more or less exploratory and we’re developing and fine tuning our technique along the way.”

“We want to be test whether or not the sensors can detect certain amounts of virus and how that would relate to how that may manifest in patients,” he says. “For this round of experimentation, we need to validate with cell cultures and having different quantified amounts of the viruses. Knowing how many viral particles it’s able to detect will allow us to move forward in assessing a patient cohort.”

As their research progresses, Ram says he sees the potential for the test to greatly improve the lives of patients worldwide

“This technology has immediate benefit if we can show it to work effectively in detecting multiple viruses,” he says.

Researchers’ Credentials:

Chumbimuni-Torres is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at UCF. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. After graduating, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University and the University of California, San Diego. During that time, she also worked at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Before joining UCF, she served as a research associate at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research interests focus on understanding, characterizing and developing chemical sensors for biological applications such as analyzing microRNAs, RNA and DNA. Her group is also interested in studying the interactions at the interface of biomolecules and nanomaterials.

Gerasimova is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, where she leads the Nucleic Acid Function and Diagnostics Laboratory. She earned her doctoral degree in bioorganic chemistry from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Russia. Gerasimova joined ��AV in 2010 as a postdoctoral researcher and transitioned to a faculty role in Fall 2016.

Ram is an assistant professor of medicine at UCF’s Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. His lab studies the role of infection and disease on the modulation of splicing, leading to dysfunctional immune responses.  Ram earned his doctoral degree in immunology at Tufts University in 2016, then trained as a postdoctoral research fellow for four years at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He subsequently served as an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School prior to joining Ů��AV in 2023.

Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles released by cells that can carry information which contain proteins, DNA and other molecules from the cells that created them. They serve as messengers giving a view of what’s happening inside the body, which makes them promising tools for early, noninvasive disease detection.

Led by principal investigator Kiminobu Sugaya, professor and head of the neuroscience division at the College of Medicine, and Qun Huo, professor and graduate program director in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Sciences, the team created a streamlined alternative. Their new method uses basic lab tools to collect and concentrate exosomes from cell samples in under an hour. The findings were recently published in the American Chemical Society’s Applied Bio Materials journal.

“Our method eliminates the need for ultracentrifugation, precipitation kits or affinity-based labeling,” Huo says. “Instead, we use a size-selective filtration and direct optical analysis technique that can isolate and characterize exosomes within a single step. This not only reduces the processing time significantly—from hours to minutes—but also minimizes sample loss and experimental variability.”

With this form of characterization, the researchers add specific antibodies, which are proteins that bind to target disease-related proteins on the exosomes. If the antibodies find a match, the exosomes cluster, causing a measurable increase in size. This change can be quickly detected using dynamic light scattering (DLS), a light-based measurement technique.

“We chose DLS not only for its ability to measure particle size distribution rapidly and non-destructively, but also for its sensitivity in detecting molecular interactions,” Huo says. “The resulting change in hydrodynamic size, as measured by DLS, serves as a direct indicator of antigen-antibody interaction.”

Hannah Ambrosius, a chemistry doctoral student, worked closely on the study as part of her thesis and shares that she quickly recognized the potential beyond just speeding up the isolation process.

“Given that exosomes contain specific biomarkers that can be used for disease detection, like cancer, it’s imperative that the exosome is efficiently isolated and purified before further analysis,” Ambrosius says. “With this protocol, we’ve moved on to human samples and have made some very interesting discoveries that we’re excited to soon share with the research community.”

The researchers tested the method on exosomes from three types of cells: human embryotic kidney cells, genetically modified cells with green fluorescent protein and brain cancer stem cells from a patient with glioblastoma. In all three cases, the method successfully isolated the exosomes and identified their surface proteins with great reliability.

“While exosome research is often associated with neurodegenerative diseases, the original purpose of this project was to develop a diagnostic tool for glioblastoma—one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant brain tumors,” Sugaya says. “Our method offers a rapid, non-invasive way to detect glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) by analyzing surface markers on exosomes, which reflect tumor-specific antigens.”

Sugaya says this technique is part of an ongoing effort to not only improve diagnosis but also advance new approaches to treatments.

“This diagnostic platform complements a novel therapeutic strategy we recently developed: an exosome-based drug delivery system that delivers non-nucleic-acid medicines directly to GBM cells,” he says. “This approach has shown strong potential as a curative therapy, and the diagnostic system we created will also serve as a valuable tool for monitoring treatment response and disease progression.”

The researchers on the team across the two colleges agree that interdisciplinary collaboration was key to achieving results.

“Collaboration allowed us to integrate biological insight with technological innovation,” Huo says. “The synergy enabled us to optimize both the design and function of the isolation platform.”

Ambrosius says as a student researcher, the collaboration opened valuable doors.

“From the perspective of a graduate student, it’s interesting to learn that the research field isn’t always about how much you know, but also who you know,” she says. “Progress is nothing short of a team effort.”

About the Researchers

Sugaya has dedicated over 40 years to neuroscience research focused on Alzheimer’s disease, with an emphasis on stem cells for the last 26 years. He moved to the U.S. after receiving his Ph.D. from the Science University of Tokyo in 1988. He joined UCF as a professor in 2004. His cancer research began in 2010 when he discovered stemness gene expressions, the self-renewing and differentiating property that allows cancer stem cells to grow and spread. He has become recognized as an expert in the field of exosome research and recently received Florida Innovation Funding from the State Department of Health for his studies.

Huo’s current research focuses on the development of new analytical and diagnostic technologies to address the health issues of humans, animals and agriculture. Huo received her bachelor’s degree in polymer science from the University of Science and Technology of China in 1991, master’s degree in chemistry from Sun Yatsen University in 1994 and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Miami in 1999. Her laboratory has developed a rapid blood test to measure the immune health of humans and animals. She collaborates extensively with biomedical scientists, medical doctors, animal scientists, veterinarians and plant scientists to develop innovative solutions for practical and challenging problems.

Mangroves are crucial because they naturally protect coastal shores from storm damage and serve as vital wildlife habitats around the world.

Scientists at the ��AV are working to preserve mangroves in Florida and across the world from an increasingly prevalent disease-causing variety of fungi that lies dormant but become active when the tree is exposed to stressors such as temperature fluctuation, pests or other diseases.

The disease does not yet have an official name, but it is being referred to by scientists as “Mangrove CNP.” It is caused by a group of fungal pathogens, including Curvularia, Neopestalotiopsis, and Pestalotiopsis, that causes yellowing and spots, and gradually weaken the mangrove until it ultimately dies.

Melissa Deinys, a UCF undergraduate researcher, and Jorge Pereira, a UCF graduate research assistant, are working to help turn the tide by developing and testing a promising nutritional cocktail comprised of nanoparticles to strengthen mangroves and counter the pathogens. The work is through Ů��AV professor Swadeshmukul Santra’s (MISA) center at UCF, which is a U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agricultural recognized Center of Excellence.

Mangrove CNP in Florida was first identified as causing mangrove die-offs by Deinys in 2019 in Miami through her work with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Later, the Marine Resources Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, verified and cited her efforts.

Deinys and collaborators with the MRC and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden have determined that about 80% of the mangroves they had sampled have tested positive for at least one of the fungal pathogen species. She says they have sampled over 130 mangroves between the Indian River Lagoon and Miami mangrove populations.

The researchers are treating the mangroves by soaking them in a nutrient solution called “Mag Sun” (MgSuN), which is comprised of magnesium and sulfur nanoparticles. The mixture is a refinement of a previous graduate student’s formula that destroyed bacteria on tomatoes, Pereira says.

“The reason why we choose magnesium is because it is more environmentally friendly, and plants need a lot of magnesium,” he says. “I combined our magnesium formulation with a sodium polysulfide. Sulfur is one of those elements that is ubiquitous in the environment, and the idea is that you can combine both to actually enhance the anti-microbial capacity for both bacteria and fungi and you also supply key nutrients to the plants so that they can grow greener and leafier.”

During lab tests, the researchers say they observed growth inhibition of up to 95% when treated with MgSuN at varying concentrations compared to the untreated control.

The formula acts as a sort of antibiotic and multivitamin, and it has shown great potential in bolstering the health of infected mangroves at nurseries across Florida, Pereira says.

“We’ve done some experiments, and we have tested both in vitro and in plants,” he says. “We’re working with the nurseries, and we’ve seen it does kill the pathogens with no detrimental effects to the mangroves while kickstarting their health. They look great after treatment.”

Deinys is continuing her work with the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, MRC and nurseries across Florida while staying the course on her path to graduation and furthering her research at UCF.

She began studying the fungal pathogens in 2018 in Miami prior to being enrolled at UCF and has seen the mangroves become increasingly affected by the pathogens’ opportunistic nature.

“Back at the botanical gardens where I started, I would see the plants have these pathogens but not to a detrimental effect where we now see these organisms collapsing,” she says. “A mangrove nursery [The Marine Resources Council] had reached out to us, and they told us they had an insect infestation and then the whole population got wiped out by the pathogen. We’re also getting reports from places like Tampa that say areas that have more runoff are having more pathogen-related deterioration compared to 10 years ago.”

The fungi have been well-documented for some time, but volatile temperature changes, frequent storms and other increasing stressors open the door to the fungi taking a hold of the mangroves, Deinys says.

“They’re called opportunistic, and they’re called that for a reason,” she says. “They see a change in the plant and that’s when they start to take effect.”

How the pathogens are acquired is something that remains unclear, Deinys says. Researchers hypothesize it may be introduced through water, wind or insects, but further studies are needed to determine how it is acquired since it poses threat to mangrove health.

“You have to study all possibilities to determine what is the vector,” Deinys says. “We’ve seen papers and literature in other countries that have shown these pathogens for a long time. It’s been difficult because there is a disconnect in mangrove communities because we’re worlds apart and with different languages.”

The MgSuN nutrient solution is a treatment, but not a cure, Deinys says. There still are ample stressors that should be managed and mitigated, such as human-caused habitat destruction, in addition to treating the pathogens.

“I think there’s a big restoration effort to repopulate mangroves,” she says. “But first we need to look at the health of these mangroves and the health of the ecosystem before we determine what more we should do. We’re working with mangrove nurseries to see if we can together develop solutions.”

Maintaining and restoring mangroves is an essential component of ecological stewardship, and it’s a passion that Deinys hopes to continue throughout her career.

“I started this project my freshman year,” she says. “I didn’t want to leave what I was doing, and I came here with a mission. I met with Dr. Santra, our PI, and he wanted to help. He gave me a lot of freedom, and I’m really grateful.”

Deinys says that her research at UCF has been incredibly gratifying.

“There is a sense of community here that I found,” she says. “I joined the lab, and it felt like I found my family and that’s one of the best things to have come out of this experience. This has been one of my life’s passions, and I hope I’ll always stay with this project even after.”

Santra is encouraged by the research conducted by Pereira and Deinys, and he is hopeful it continues to bolster mangrove ecosystems.

“The UCF MISA center is dedicated to solving global problems that threaten agricultural sustainability,” he says. “We are excited to have another crop protection tool in our toolbox for protecting mangroves. I see the future of MagSun as a broad-spectrum fungicide, where GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) materials are empowered through nanotechnology.”

Further studies are needed to pinpoint which stressors are affecting the mangroves the most so that scientists can better preserve them, Pereira says.

“It’s very important to understand the stressors, and we need to really address if it’s a change in temperature, if it’s runoff or if it’s an additional pathogen,” he says. “In the meantime, we need to do something to prevent this damage from occurring.”

Researchers’ Credentials

Deinys graduated from BioTECH @ Richmond Heights High School, a conservation biology magnet school, where she began her research journey at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and specialized in botany. In Fall 2022, Deinys joined UCF and became a member of the Santra Lab the following spring. She is an undergraduate research assistant working towards her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology.

Pereira graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras with a degree in industrial chemistry. He joined Santra’s lab in 2020 and is currently a graduate research assistant and working toward his doctoral degree in chemistry.

Santra holds a doctorate in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. After graduating, he worked at the University of Florida (UF) as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a research assistant professor at the UF Department of Neurological Surgery and Particle Engineering Research Center. In 2005, Santra joined UCF as an assistant professor at the , the and the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. He is the director of the UCF Materials Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture center, a USDA-NIFA-recognized Center of Excellence.

Early discovery of debilitating diseases such as cancer or dementia is critical in determining treatment and saving lives.

Associate Professor Xiaohu Xia recently received a $1.3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his promising nanoparticle research that could drastically improve disease detection accuracy by more than 300-times.

The NIH awards R01 grants to investigators for mature research projects that are hypothesis-driven with strong preliminary data like Xia’s.

“In our preliminary laboratory results, we have demonstrated that our nanoparticle-based artificial enzymes are able to improve the detection sensitivity by about 300 times better than the current assets in the market,” he says.

His research spans four years, and it focuses on enhancing the diagnostic efficacy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing by using specially tailored nickel-platinum nanoparticles that will bind to specific disease biomarkers – such as proteins and hormones – in bodily fluid samples.

Xia is the sole principal investigator, but he will oversee postdoctoral and graduate students who will assist him.

Although there has been some experimentation with substituting nanoparticles in ELISA testing, there hasn’t been a monumental advancement in diagnostic sensitivity in decades, and Xia says he aims to make the leap through his nanoparticle research.

“ELISA technology is one of the most popular technologies used for screenings of a variety of different diseases,” he says. “For example, when you go to the doctor’s office and do your annual physical exam, the bloodwork may use ELISA to detect a variety of different biomarkers. But to breakthrough this technology, you have to completely replace the natural enzyme with something else.”

The switch from using traditional peroxidase found in horseradish root to artificial enzyme “mimics” comprised of nanoparticles could result in numerous benefits, the researcher says. Xia says the nanoparticles are significantly more stable and active, which could mean more reliable and accurate ELISA test results.

“In commercial technology, people are using natural enzymes that are extracted from plants,” Xia says. “In our technology, we’re going to replace the natural enzyme with our artificial enzymes which are made of metal nanoparticles. The artificial enzymes are much more efficient than natural enzymes so that means were going to have a stronger color signal which can substantially improve the detection sensitivity of this technology.”

In this study, Xia endeavors to build and maximize the nanoparticles’ capabilities while demonstrating and confirming their efficacy in clinical use by testing different disease biomarkers in human blood samples. He says he plans to fine-tune the structure of the nanoparticles to engineer the most optimal artificial enzymes for diagnostics.

It will be the first time his nanoparticles will interact with clinical samples, Xia says.

“We’re going to further improve the sensitivity by using the unique nanoparticles and to use two cancers for demonstration,” he says. “In this project, we propose to detect prostate cancer and colorectal cancer in the early stages in blood. With our new technology, we hope to achieve early diagnosis of these cancers.”

The nanoparticles will serve as enhanced artificial “mimics” of conventional enzymes to bond and react in a way that will show color when combined with bioreceptors, such as antibodies, if the target disease biomarkers are present.

When a biomarker is detected, the test generates a visible color output that can be used to quantify its concentration. The stronger the color is, the stronger the concentration. The tests must be highly sensitive to prevent false negatives that could delay treatment or interventions.

Xia is hopeful his research will reveal that the nanoparticles will have record efficiency in providing quicker results and more definitive contrast in the coloring of samples while simplifying the procedures and devices needed for testing.

“Detection sensitivity is critical for diagnostics for significant diseases,” he says. “For the very early stages, the concentration of biomarkers may be very low and not detected by conventional ELISA. With our new technology, were aiming to substantially improve the sensitivity so we can detect even low concentrations of biomarkers in patient samples.”

He aspires to use the foundational knowledge gained from his initial research in 2021 to impact the general field of in vitro diagnostics by offering a type of ultraefficient artificial enzymes that are suitable for many diagnostic technologies even beyond ELISA.

“The ultimate goal we want to achieve is early detection of significant diseases like cancer and in the future, we also want to detect some other very challenging diseases like maybe even Alzheimer’s Disease,” Xia says.

Researcher’s Credentials

Xia joined UCF’s Department of Chemistry, part of UCF’s College of Sciences, in 2018. He has a joint appointment in UCF’s . Prior to his appointment at UCF, he worked at Michigan Technological University as an assistant professor and at Georgia Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher.

Santra, a professor associated with UCF’s , and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, has 34 Ů��AV inventions under his belt and leads the university’s Materials Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) center, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agricultural recognized Center of Excellence.

Some of his latest inventions include a nanocomposition that captures and preserves plant materials and agrochemicals and a targeted delivery system for combatting plant disease and providing nutrients at the nano level.

CapTap Keeps Agrochemicals, Pharmaceuticals Active Longer

One recent invention, CapTap, is a gel composition that captures and protects a product’s active ingredients, helping to extend the shelf life and viability. The technology addresses a persistent problem for industry: loss of chemical activity in ingredients before use.

Santra says it offers multiple uses and benefits for agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, and it protects active ingredients in their original form in storage conditions and biological environments.

The inspiration for the invention came after reading an article about polyphenols, he says.

“Then I started quickly thinking about how the material, a natural product, could be useful,” Santra says. “That’s the beauty of chemistry.”

He contacted one of UCF’s industry partners and acquired 50 kilograms—a drum full of a naturally sourced polyphenol.

“It’s very cost-effective,” Santra says. “And then, after that, the magic happened.”

UCF chemistry doctoral student Jorge Pereira is a co-inventor of the technology.

“Initially, we were interested in it as an alternative to controlling plant pathogens using copper or zinc,” Pereira says.

He says that at the same time, there was also a master’s student looking for a biomedical project on the nano delivery of curcumin. While considering both, Pereira says he realized that he could use the technology to encapsulate and deliver curcumin as a cargo. Later that night, after some restless sleep, Pereira says he realized he could use the technology not only to encapsulate that particular molecule, but you could use it to encapsulate every single molecule that has the same molecular interactions.”

With that, Pereira went to the lab early the next morning.

“I tested the technology with maybe 10 different components, and it seemed that it encapsulated almost all of them with ease,” he says. “We concluded that this capturing technology, based on intermolecular interactions, could be used for agriculture and biomedical.”

With the CapTap technology’s potential, two student researchers were able to develop their master’s theses related to medical issues. Giuliana Giannelli, a co-inventor, published the paper . Meanwhile, Research Assistant Sebastian Leon published . Surprisingly, he and the team got an email from scientists with the Association for Creatine Deficiencies (ACD).

“We were heavily intrigued because we did not promote this technology in any way,” Pereira says.

He says that the group wanted to know if CapTap could be used to deliver creatine specifically to the brain to help people suffering from Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD), which has no proven treatment to date.

According to the ACD website, creatine is essential to sustain the high energy levels needed for muscle and brain development. While patients with CTD may have the necessary enzymes to form creatine, the creatine transporters that carry it to the brain and muscles do not function properly, and the creatine stays in the bloodstream.

“So you start developing something for one aspect, and then you find out that it’s useful for something completely different,” Pereira says.

He says the non-phytotoxic and environmentally friendly technology can encapsulate active ingredients, both organic and inorganic materials, in liquid or gel form. It can also increase the shelf-life of many ingredients in various products, from foods and beverages to agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. In one example application, the technology enables manufacturers to produce commercially available fertilizers at a lower cost. More information is available on the .

Galvoxite Delivery System Uniquely Targets Pathogens Through Plant Surfaces

Another recent invention enables growers to apply antifungal and antibacterial plant treatments and nutrients more effectively and efficiently. The Galvoxite^TM delivery system targets specific parts of a plant’s leaf tissue, such as areas most susceptible to bacteria and fungi. Growers can also use the technology to deliver micronutrients to targeted plant areas.

“This was my very first project when I joined Dr. Santra’s group,” Pereira says. “So, it’s my baby. It’s been a rebellious baby at that, but over these past four years, we’ve made tremendous discoveries with this formulation, and its behavior is very unique. It fits a niche in nanotechnology for agriculture that was not there.”

Pereira says that the technology’s nano borate formulations have an affinity for certain parts of a plant’s leaf that are prone to bacterial and fungal infections. The idea behind it is that if researchers are able to direct the pesticide to these specific areas, they can spray less pesticide and be more efficient. According to research from the National Library of Medicine, three billion kilograms of pesticides are used worldwide every year, while only 1% of total pesticides are effectively used to control insect pests on target plants.

The ��AV inventors discovered that with Galvoxite, they could effectively use oxytetracycline, an antibiotic labeled for peaches.

“We’re able to direct it to these openings in the leaves, called stomata,” Pereira says. “This is where the bacteria go inside the leaf. The invention significantly reduces the plant toxicity of traditional metal-based agrochemicals. More importantly, it increases the efficiency of foliar-sprayed agrochemicals by preferentially targeting and depositing in the stomata and the depressions between leaf cuticles.”

Stomata are pores that allow a plant to breathe, and leaf cuticles protect a plant and help it to retain water.

“Oxytetracycline is just one example of the payloads we can target with the technology,” he says. “We believe we might be able to direct more biostimulants, fungicides, or other antibiotics as well.”

The researchers also successfully used the technology to deliver a nano zinc borate pesticide to combat foliar pathogens on tomato plants.

As added benefit, the technology enhances a plant’s rain fastness and plant absorption and improves pesticide resistance.

The researchers confirmed that a plant’s fruit remains perfect with both technologies.

For more information, view the  and the .

Ongoing and Related Work

For Santra and Pereira, the research continues. With CapTap, the team is working to see if the UCF technology can cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver creatine more efficiently for people with CTD.

“If so, this could be a real game changer for people with this disorder,” Pereira says. “We are very excited.”

Sebastian Leon has applied for a fellowship with the ACD, and if it is granted, the work will be done in the Santra lab.

Santra added that they will be collaborating with fellow UCF researcher at the NanoScience Technology Center in , which focuses on constructing next-generation systems for toxicology, drug discovery, and basic biology research.

“They have the right to an in vitro model system that we can use to test whether the findings can show that it can cross the blood-brain barrier,” Santra says. “Nadine is on board and saw the proposal that Sebastian put together for his fellowship.”

He says that the proposal is currently pending with the agency.

In conjunction with the Galvoxite research, Pereira says that the team has developed an adjuvant technology. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved the use of oxytetracycline to help growers combat HLB in citrus plants. However, when injected into citrus trees, Pereira says the antibiotic can cause phytotoxicity and symptoms like bark splitting and staining on the wooden branches.

“This adjuvant technology is liquid, and there are no nanomaterials in this, but it can dissolve oxytetracycline at a neutral pH, which hasn’t been able to be done at an industrial scale, and this is in water,” he says.

The adjuvant technology comprises mostly non-toxic chemicals that growers can easily obtain,” Pereira says. “We’ve started some preliminary tests with a grower, and we’ve seen fantastic results.”

Background and Work to Protect Florida Citrus

Years ago, as a young post-doctoral researcher, chemist, and nanoscientist, Santra welcomed the interdisciplinary research culture he found “unique to the United States.”

Santra attributes that culture to the success of his work.

“We did not have this kind of opportunity while I was in graduate school in India,” Santra says. “The setting there was more like just you and your professor.”

When he joined ��AV in 2005, Santra told himself to be passionate about interdisciplinary research. He said his first interdisciplinary research project came in 2008 when a student named Tamre Parsons asked for some lab experience related to citrus research.

“She said I’m interested in doing citrus research because there is a disease here called citrus canker, and I would like to contribute to solving this disease,” Santra says. “I said, OK, that’s good, but I do not know anything about agriculture.”

After discovering citrus canker was a bacterial disease, Santra advised Parsons to contact an agriculture research expert. They found and contacted Jim Graham, Professor Emeritus of soil microbiology at the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred, Florida. He has been working on controlling the citrus canker disease for many years.

After the researchers connected, Santra’s team visited the CREC in Lake Alfred and informally discussed their nanotechnology research with Graham.

“I saw that Jim was very excited to learn about it, and that’s how the journey started,” he says.

In addition to developing solutions against citrus canker, Santra and his team have created treatments against the more damaging Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, also known as citrus greening. Three of the patented technologies from Santra’s canker and HLB research are a , and , and . Santra also interacts with plant pathologists and works alongside growers to combat other crop diseases. For example, those that attack grapes and tomatoes.

Besides agriculture, Santra and his team have worked to help the biomedical and electronics industries.

“We call chemistry a central science. It connects every field,” he says. “That’s a benefit for us to work with many disciplines.

“Whatever success we have gained so far, you see it, there has been a platform,” he says. “When you bring together all different disciplines, people talk to each other. They come up with new ideas.”

Researchers’ Credentials

Santra holds a doctorate in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. After graduating, he worked with the University of Florida as a post-doctoral researcher and later as a research assistant professor at the UF Department of Neurological Surgery and Particle Engineering Research Center (PERC). In 2005, Santra joined UCF as a professor at the Nanoscience Technology Center, Department of Chemistry, Department of Materials Science & Engineering, and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. He is the director of the UCF  center, a USDA-NIFA-recognized Center of Excellence.

Pereira graduated from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (National University of Honduras) with a degree in industrial chemistry. In 2019 Pereira and his wife emigrated to the U.S. to continue their chemistry studies and become researchers at UCF. He joined Dr. Santra’s lab in 2020 and is currently a graduate research assistant and working toward his Ph.D. Pereira hopes that his accomplishments will inspire young Hondurans to pursue higher education and choose research as a career.

Technology Available for License

To learn more about Santra’s work and additional potential licensing or sponsored research opportunities, contact Andrea Adkins at (407) 823-0138.

��AV is No. 1 in Florida for computer and information sciences expenditures (and top 6% nationally) and No. 2 for engineering funding (top 20% nationally). The university also ranks in the top five in Florida for research backed by several national departments, including:

• No. 2 for NASA funding in Florida — and top 9% nationally
• No. 2 for Department of Defense funding in Florida — and top 15% nationally
• No. 3 for U.S. National Science Foundation funding in Florida — and top 15% nationally
• No. 3 for Department of Energy funding in Florida — and in the top 20% nationally
• No. 5 for Department of Health and Human Services funding in Florida — and top 25% nationally

Ů��AV is also in the top 10% of expenditures in the nation for research in physics, computer and information sciences, non-science and engineering, and physical sciences. “I am very pleased at UCF’s continued growth in research expenditures, surpassing $220M for FY22,” says Winston Schoenfeld, UCF’s interim vice president for research and innovation. “This is the direct result of tireless work by our dedicated faculty, staff, and students, as well as our many partners, leading to new levels of innovation in research and discovery. Through their collective excellence, UCF continues to progress as one of the leading public research universities in the nation.”

UCF also had an impact on higher education R&D expenditures this year. At higher education institutions in both survey populations, UCF finished in the top 19%, fifth in Florida. At expenditures at public institutions, UCF finished in the top 20%, fifth in Florida. Overall research and development spending by academic institutions nationwide totaled $97.8 billion in FY 2022, an increase of $8 billion from FY 2021.

Over the year, UCF’s projects were tied to a number of agencies and scientific disciplines:

Computer and Information Sciences

UCF ranks ahead of all universities in Florida

Paul Gazzillo, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Computer Science, is leading research on a three-year, nearly $1 million Defense Advance Research Projects Agency Young Faculty award that will make investigations into corporate relationships easier and quicker by creating automated tools that help investigators track complex corporate relationships.

Department of Defense

UCF ranks ahead of Florida International University (FIU), Florida State University (FSU) and the University of South Florida (USF)

UCF Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Associate Professor Kareem Ahmed, NanoScience Technology Center Assistant Professor Tania Roy, and UCF Materials Science and Engineering Professor Kevin Coffey were selected by the U.S. Department of Defense as part of the department’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative, which supports projects that range from advancing hypersonic propulsion to improving semiconductor performance and will fund the work for the next five years.

Engineering

UCF ranks ahead of FSU, USF, FIU

Utilizing technology such as heart monitors with acoustic technology and biomechanical forces that can influence the early stages of heart disease, mechanical and aerospace engineers at UCF focus their expertise on finding creative solutions to heart disease, the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

UCF ranks ahead of FSU and USF

Planetary scientists Kerri Donaldson Hanna and Adrienne Dove will lead a $35 million NASA science mission to land a spacecraft on the moon’s Gruithuisen Domes, a previously unexplored region. The robotic mission would launch in 2026 to study the domes’ chemical composition and how dust interacts with the spacecraft and a rover.

Physics

UCF ranks No. 2 in Florida, and ahead of Florida Atlantic University (FAU), University of West Florida (UWF), University of North Florida (UNF) nationally

Tania Roy, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and NanoScience Technology Center, and Molla Manjurul Islam ’17MS, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in UCF’s Department of Physics, have developed a device for artificial intelligence that mimics the retina of the eye. The development could lead to advanced AI that can instantly recognize what it sees, like automatic descriptions of pictures taken by a camera or phone. The technology also has applications in self-driving vehicles and robotics.

Department of Energy

UCF ranks ahead of FIU, Florida A&M University (FAMU) and USF

Denisia Popolan-Vaida, an assistant professor in UCF’s Department of Chemistry, received a five-year, $800,000 grant from the Department of Energy to investigate elusive chemical compounds that could help mitigate the impact of combustion on the environment. The compounds, known as Criegee intermediates, form by reactions of ozone and hydrocarbons, and only within the last decade have scientists been able to directly measure them because of their low concentrations and short lifetime.

U.S. National Science Foundation

UCF ranks head of USF, FIU and FAMU

Eight Ů��AV professors who work with interdisciplinary teams to solve tech and health problems were named NSF CAREER award recipients. Some of the research includes Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering YeonWoong “Eric” Jung’s materials and nanotech research into pliable laptops and smartphones, as well as Assistant Professor of Material Science and Engineering and Biionix Faculty Cluster Initiative member Mehdi Razavi’s work into improving corrosion resistance to produce better magnesium-based bone implants.

Physical Sciences

UCF ranks No. 3 in Florida, and ahead of FAU, UWF and UNF

Using data collected from Arecibo’s Planetary Radar, planetary scientist Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin researched the 2019 asteroid OK that was headed toward Earth. The asteroid was between .04 and .08 miles in diameter and was moving fast, rotating for 3 to 5 minutes. The asteroid was part of only 4.2% of the known fast-rotating asteroids.

In a first-of-its-kind mission for the United States that spanned over seven years, the unmanned spacecraft mapped and studied the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, then retrieved a sample for researchers to study the asteroid’s composition.

Topping the list was a story on the world’s first energy-saving paint inspired by butterflies. The plasmonic paint utilizes a nanoscale structural arrangement of colorless materials — aluminum and aluminum oxide — instead of pigments to create colors. The paint can contribute to energy-saving efforts and help reduce environmental impacts.

Other stories included a $12.6 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant looking to create self-repairing, biological and human-engineered reef-mimicking structures. ��AV is helping design reef structures that will be used to mitigate coastal flooding, erosion and storm damage that threaten civilian and Department of Defense infrastructure and personnel. Another story featured new research on the earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia, pushing back the presence of humans in that part of the world by at least 20,000 years and a human presence in the region for at least 56,000 years.

Here are the Top 10 UCF Research News Stories of 2023:

1. UCF Researcher Creates World’s First Energy-saving Paint – Inspired by Butterflies

2. The Long Journey of NASA’S OSIRIS-REx

3. Human Migration Timeline Redrawn by Fresh Fossil Analysis

4. New UCF-developed Battery Could Prevent Post-hurricane Electric Vehicle Fires

5. UCF Researchers Are Advancing AI-assisted Drug Discovery

6. Ů��AV is Designing Self-repairing Oyster Reefs to Protect Florida’s Coastlines

7. New DOD-funded Project Will Develop Morphing Hypersonic Engine

8. UCF Researchers Create Bioabsorbable Implants for Better Bone Healing

9. UCF Team Awarded $2.3M Grant for Innovative Intervention to Prevent Falls

10. Deadly Frog Disease More Prevalent in Central Florida Than Expected, UCF Study Finds

The annual top 10 list is based on UCF Today page views and coverage UCF research received by global, national, state, and local media. The stories were generated by news releases and pitches from UCF Communications and Marketing, UCF’s Office of Research and UCF’s colleges.

Ethanol fuel cells offer cleaner emissions than fossil fuels and no charging times compared to electric vehicle batteries.

In recent studies published in the journals and Joule, UCF Associate Professor Yang Yang and his team developed new catalysts to make direct ethanol fuel cells last longer and boost their power density to a record level.

Biomass-derived ethanol has been widely used in many industries, including as a liquid biofuel. However, the ethanol must go through a conversion process to become usable fuel and can only be indirectly converted to energy by blending with gasoline to achieve an acceptable conversion efficiency.

Direct ethanol fuel cells, unlike the traditional ways to use ethanol, allow for ethanol to be directly poured in and used for fuel that can be directly converted into electricity at high efficiency. The alcohol-based power source could be used to power vehicles and create nearly noise-less electric power generators, which could benefit both defense and residential usage.

The greater power density of the direct ethanol fuel cells developed in Yang’s lab means more power can be delivered using less space, which is key for practical applications like in vehicles where compact and low-weight power sources lead to more efficient travel.

“Our research enables direct ethanol fuel cells to compete with hydrogen-fuel cells and batteries in various sustainable energy fields, which have not yet been achieved before our invention,” Yang says. “Ethanol is a clean and safe biofuel in the liquid phase, which is much easier and safer for storage and transport than pure hydrogen. Compared to the technology to extract hydrogen from ethanol and then convert hydrogen to electricity, our technology can directly convert ethanol into electricity, so it is an overall positive energy balance and negative emission technology.”

About the Studies

Nature Communications

In this work, the researchers developed a new materials design principle based on the synergistic interface effect in which the combination of different materials leads to enhanced performance beyond the individual components.

For the design, the researchers used active palladium nanoparticles semi-embedded into graphitic shells, which were covered on the surface of cobalt nanoparticles, forming a unique palladium and cobalt nitrogen-graphite carbon structure.

When tested as both a positive electrode (cathode) and negative electrode (anode) catalyst, the structure delivered increased power density and stable operation for more than 1,000 hours, far exceeding current, commercial palladium carbon and other state-of-the-art catalysts, Yang says.

Joule

In this study, the researchers achieved a power density of almost 0.8 watts per square centimeter using a new high-entropy alloy catalyst they designed, setting a new performance record.

The catalyst can be used for both the cathode and anode to overcome challenges with sluggish reactions and high energy needs.

“The results really break the record by enhancing the fuel cell performance by a few folds compared to commercial catalysts,” Yang says.

Next Steps

Yang says the research team is working to further improve the power density of the direct ethanol fuel cells by optimizing the composition of the catalysts and is also exploring ways to commercialize the technology.

Researcher Credentials

Yang holds joint appointments in UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center and the , which is part of the university’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of UCF’s Renewable Energy and Chemical Transformation (REACT) Cluster. He also holds a secondary joint-appointment in UCF’s  and . Before joining Ů��AV in 2015, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University and an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany. He received his doctorate in materials science from Tsinghua University in China.

The goal of the consortium is to engage in research that supports the NNSA’s nuclear security and nonproliferation missions while building a next-generation workforce of nuclear scientists, engineers and researchers. The University of Florida leads the group, which is also comprised of seven national laboratories including Sandia, Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge.

“The role of universities for nuclear forensics research is to innovate and develop some of the most challenging and fundamental aspects of new technology and methods,” says Keith McManus, the university program manager for defense nuclear nonproliferation research and development at NNSA, in a release. “Once these basic aspects have been proven at the university level, the Department of Energy’s national laboratories can fulfill their unique role to perform mission-specific research and development that improves on capabilities for adoption by operational enterprises.”

This is the first NNSA consortium that UCF has joined. Two faculty members — Professor Subith Vasu of the and Assistant Professor Vasileios Anagnostopoulos of the — lead the charge for the university. They will work with researchers from other universities in the consortium, including Notre Dame, Clemson and Texas A&M, to address gaps and challenges within different aspects of nuclear forensics research.

“As a member of the consortium, we’ll be conducting research on different aspects of nuclear forensics,” Vasu says. “For example, when you have a nuclear detonation, how do the fireballs interact with the materials and what residuals does it leave?”

Other questions the team will seek to answer include how to determine what materials were used in a nuclear weapon after it’s been detonated, and how to detect a nuclear weapon or materials that may have been smuggled into the country. Vasu says this type of research has renewed relevance due to the war in Ukraine and public interest in whether or not Russia would resort to the use of nuclear weapons.

A separate challenge the NNSA aims to address is the dwindling nuclear forensics workforce. Vasu says that many researchers in this area started their careers in the 1960s and 1970s and are now headed into retirement. Through the consortium, the NNSA can build a pipeline of young professionals who have experience in nuclear forensics.

“Students will do research, have internship opportunities, and when they graduate, they can be employed by the NNSA labs,” Vasu says. “It builds a pipeline for these labs and it’s also very prestigious for students to go work at a national laboratory.”

For UCF, being included in the consortium is an impressive feat. Out of the 16 universities, Ů��AV is one of the few without a dedicated nuclear forensics degree program or department. Vasu says this speaks to the strength of UCF’s reputation for research.

“UCF has been working in this area for several years now, with research in aerospace, computer science and chemistry that can support our future work in nuclear forensics,” he says. “It’s possible that this work could lead to a nuclear forensics program at UCF since we already have the base to create it.”

Vasu joined Ů��AV in 2012 as an assistant professor, and prior to that, worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Sandia National Laboratory. He is a member of the at UCF, is an associate fellow of the American Institute of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the International Energy Agency’s Task Team on Energy. He has ongoing projects with several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, among others.

Anagnostopoulos joined ��AV in 2018 as an assistant professor and currently runs the Environmental Radiochemistry Research Group within the Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on the fate and retention-release cycles of contaminants as well as nuclear fuel disposal.