Adrian Hannon

Adrian Hannon – PhD Researcher

Adrian completed his undergraduate degree, 2014-18, in applied physics at NUIGalway, focusing his interest on nanotechnology and properties of materials, as well as doing several summer research internships. Following this, in 2018-19, he completed a scholarship funded master’s degree in advanced engineering of materials at the University of Limerick. Here, Adrian focused further on nano-structured materials and synthesis for electrical applications, as well as a range of characterisation techniques. Towards the end of his masters, Adrian began working for Analog Devices International (ADI) in their department for molecular sensing. Here, he worked on the modelling, design, fabrication, and characterisation of various sensing technologies with their research and development team. After developing this well-rounded, industry-focused skillset with ADI, Adrian left to commence his Ph.D. research studies under the supervision of Dr Tadhg Kennedy and Dr Kieran McGourty in November of 2020, at the Bernal Labs in the University of Limerick.

Adrian’s thesis work focuses on the development of an electrochemical biosensing platform. The research is multidisciplinary in its approach, incorporating elements of nanotechnology, electro- and biochemistry, material science, and immunology. The project tackles the various components of the device platform with a layer-by-layer approach. These components include:

• The electrode architecture, synthesising and analysing a range of micro- and nano-structures for surface modification and sensitivity enhancement.
• The bioreceptor immobilization methods for greater orientation, selectivity, and stability when detecting the target analyte.
• The electrochemical transducer mechanism, developing a low limit of detection and improved signal quality, compared to current standards.