About This Webinar
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a new area of research that is focused on creating highly effective biosensors. As such, the development of photonic based multiplexed devices for diseases is a significant advancement in the medical industry. These devices are capable of simultaneously detecting different markers of a single disease from several bodily fluids, such as urine or blood, with high sensitivity and accuracy. This improved detection leads to earlier diagnosis, which allows for earlier interventions or treatments that have higher success rates. In addition, these devices are also able to detect multiple diseases at once, reducing the time it takes to diagnose multiple conditions simultaneously.
Owing to its high sensitivity and outstanding multiplexing ability, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an effective analytical technique that has excellent potential in bioanalysis and diagnosis. Thwala’s current work focuses on SERS-based pathogen detection methods as point-of-care solutions for early viral infection detection and chronic disease diagnosis. SERS has become a popular spectroscopic technique thanks to recent advancements in optics, laser technology, and nano-devices and this presentation outlines those SERS components. Additionally, Thwala surveys various other promising in vivo applications of SERS and addresses advantages, prospects, and challenges of SERS-based assays in diagnosis.
*** This presentation premiered during the
2023 BioPhotonics Conference. For more information on Photonics Media conferences and summits, visit
events.photonics.com.
About the presenter
Lungile Nomcebo Thwala, Ph.D., is an experienced researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceuticals industry. She is passionate about nanotechnology and its applications in health. Thwala has a strong research background in nanomedicine with a research doctorate focused on innovative pharmaceutical technologies/drug discovery and biomedical sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Univeristé Catholique de Louvain in Belgium along with a master’s degree in medicinal chemistry from the University of Johannesburg and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biological sciences from the University of Eswatini.
She has worked with pharmaceutical companies such as SANOFI, Wildlife Pharmaceuticals, and Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP Vaccines) and she is currently a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) focusing on biophotonics research.
Her research interests are in biophotonics, nanomedicine and nanodiagnostics, drug discovery, synthetic chemistry, and medical devices development. Thwala has several publications in peer reviewed journals, patents, and book chapters. She is a professional reviewer and supervisor, an active One Young World (OYW) ambassador, and a member of Black Women in Science (BWiS).