Amparo Ferrer
About me
I obtained the bachelor in Chemistry in 2016 from the Universitat de València (UV) (Spain). During my studies, I obtained a scholarship from the Erasmus Exchange Programme to develop a stay of one year at the Prof. Uwe Schröder´s group at the environmental and sustainable chemistry department in the Technische Universität Braunschweig (Germany), where I was characterizing microbial fuel cells with different electrochemical techniques. In 2017, I obtained the master in Electrochemistry, Science and Technology from the Universidad de Córdoba (Spain). During my final master project developed at the Chemistry-Physics department of the UV, I was performing different spectrum-electro-gravimetric studies of the compaction process of some conducting polymers. I obtained my PhD in Electrochemistry. Science and Technology from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in February 2023, carried out in the Group of Chemical Transducers (GTQ) at the Institute of microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM, CSIC), under the supervision of Dr. Xavier Muñoz-Berbel and Dr. Gonzalo Guirado. My thesis was focused on the development of electrochromic smart materials for bacterial detection. During this period, I learned different electrochemical and spectrochemical techniques. In addition, I acquired knowledge about microbial detection and I could learn skills for non-pathogenic bacteria manipulation. During my PhD I obtained an Erasmus+ internship to develop a stay of three months at the MeBioS group headed by Dr. Jeroen Lammertyn in the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), where I was developing a bacterial sensing autonomous microfluidic platform. Besides, I was imparting chemistry lessons at the biology degree in the UAB as associate professor for five months. I have been involved in two international projects from the European Commission and one national project as PI. Through this time, I have gained experience in optical an electrochemical transduction, microorganisms’ manipulation, biosensing, micro- and nano-fabrication and micro-fluidics.
Publications
1. Joan Aymerich, Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Jose Cisneros-Fernández, Roger Escudé-Pujol, Gonzalo Guirado, Lluís Terés, Michele Dei, Xavier Muñoz-Berbel, Francisco Serra-Graells. “Ultrasensitive bacterial sensing using a disposable all-in-one amperometric platform with self-noise cancellation”, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, vol. 234, p. 115342, 2023. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115342
2. Jiri Dietvorst, Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Sharath Narayana Iyengar, Aman Russom, Jordi Mas, Maria-Pilar Marco, Gonzalo Guirado and Xavier Muñoz-Berbel. “Bacteria Detection at a Single-Cell Level through a Cyanotype-Based Photochemical Reaction”, Analytical Chemistry, vol. 94, p. 787 – 792, 2022. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c03326
3. Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Yasmine Alonso, Jiri Dietvorst, Marta Pérez-Montero, Rosalía Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Kristina Ivanova, Tzanko Tzanov, Núria Vigués, Jordi Mas, Gonzalo Guirado and Xavier Muñoz-Berbel. “Sonochemical coating of Prussian Blue for the production of smart bacterial- sensing hospital textiles”, Ultrason. - Sonochemistry, vol. 70, p. 105317, 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2020.105317
4. Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Yasmine Alonso, Josune J. Ezenarro, Sara Santiago, Xavier Muñoz-Berbel and Gonzalo Guirado. “Electrochromogenic Detection of Live Bacteria Using Soluble and Insoluble Prussian blue”, ACS Omega, vol. 6, p. 30989 – 30997, 2021. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c03434
5. Sharath Narayana Iyengar, Jiri Dietvorst, Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Gonzalo Guirado, Xavier Muñoz-Berbel and Aman Russom. “Toward Rapid Detection of Viable Bacteria in Whole Blood for Early Sepsis Diagnostics and Susceptibility Testing”, ACS Sensors, vol. 6, p. 3357 – 3366, 2021. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.1c01219
6. Amparo Ferrer-Vilanova, Kristina Ivanova, María Díaz-González, Yasmine Alonso, Gonzalo Guirado, Tzanko Tzanov and Xavier Muñoz-Berbel. “Smart Sensing Fabrics for Live Bacteria Detection”, Proceedings, vol. 2(13), p. 216, 2018. doi: 10.3390/proceedings2130916
Research
I will work on the project “In situ environmental monitoring with a paper roll” founded by the Carl Trygger Foundation (CTS) in the research group of Prof. Nicole Pamme. The goal of the project is to develop a "paper printed laboratory", by integrating optical and electrochemical sensing onto paper microfluidics platforms. It will enable to collect chemical and biological data at low cost and to detect pollutants and key environmental parameters at higher frequencies and higher spatial densities, resulting in a robust and cost-effective technology for a better management of the aquatic environment.
