Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that focuses on the chemical processes that make electrons move.
Electrons are negatively charged particles that exist outside of an atom’s nucleus. They create electricity when they move from one atom to another.
Electrochemical methods are often used in the treatment process of diabetes. For example, the glucose meter allows diabetics and their doctors to measure their blood sugar levels.
Sabine Kuss, an assistant professor in the U of M chemistry department, leads a research group in developing electrochemical sensors for medical applications. She said electrochemical methods have several unique benefits.
“It’s very quick,” she explained. “It’s fast, it offers rapid results, it is inexpensive and it can be applied to many, many areas of research and life.”
“When you look at electrochemistry around you, you see it everywhere.”
Some everyday examples of electrochemical technology include batteries, solar panels or electric cars.
One of the research projects Kuss’s team is working on aims to use electrochemistry to investigate antibiotic resistance.
A factor that aids antibiotic resistance involves bacterial efflux pumps — proteins in the plasma membranes of bacteria that stop and eject harmful agents from the cell. These pumps can allow cells to reject drugs such as antibiotics before they can take effect.
Electrochemical sensors can give further information about bacterial resistance methods, such as determining what level of resistance cells may have.
Since multiple cellular mechanisms contribute to antibiotic resistance, a bacteria’s degree of resistance is measured by its ability to expel or block the uptake of antibacterial medication.
Kuss’s team is able to investigate cells’ resistance abilities non-invasively using scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM).
With this method, a scientist can observe which molecules move back and forth across the bacteria’s cell membrane. SECM does not disturb the cell, which allows it to be observed in its natural state.
SECM can also be used to see how cells react to certain stimuli, such as UV (ultraviolet) rays or new medications.
Kuss’s team is working on developing a biosensor that can tell a doctor which medication to use to best treat an infection.
A patient with an infection would give a blood or urine sample, and the sensors would be used to determine the best treatment path for the individual.
Antibiotic resistance is increasing from the misuse or overuse of antibiotics in plants, humans and animals.
Broad-spectrum antibiotics, which target multiple types of bacteria, are particularly prone to creating resistance when used unnecessarily.
Some research has shown that using broad-spectrum antibiotics can also cause adverse side effects that are not as prominent in patients who use narrow-spectrum antibiotics.
If doctors are able to determine which specific medication is most effective, it can reduce the need for antibiotics that target a large range of bacteria.
Another one of the ongoing research projects worked on by Kuss’s team seeks to understand reasons behind mitochondrial failure. It focuses on a childhood disorder called Cytochrome c Oxidase (COX) deficiency.
Children with this condition lack an important enzyme in their mitochondria. They often appear healthy for the first few days after birth but develop muscle issues later.
COX deficiency can cause problems in areas such as the brain, heart and digestive system.
If intervention is not quick enough, COX deficiency can cause long-term disabilities and even death. The relatively fast turnaround time for electrochemical sensors aids in early detection.
When this condition is detected early enough to provide preventative medication, symptoms of the disease can be minimized, allowing children with the disease to live relatively normal lives.
Kuss believes that the future of developing electrochemical sensors has great potential. She has been pleased to see how interested U of M chemistry students were in this field.
Kuss has six undergraduate students on her team, which she said has been a pleasant experience.
“I’m really impressed, I have to say, with the dedication and motivation of our undergraduate students,” Kuss said. “Every year, my group is hosting six or seven undergraduate students over the summer, and it’s just been amazing, amazing to work with such young students.”
“They have been super productive and have a very good understanding of these concepts,” she added.
“When I started here at the U of M, this was a very, very awesome surprise.”
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
