Professor Alan Bond

The Electrochemistry Research Group is part of the School of Chemistry at Monash University and is headed by Professor Alan Bond. The group’s main focus of research is in the development of point-of-care sensors related to renal health.

Diabetic patients are able to benefit from electrochemical sensors which can monitor glucose in the blood. This allows diabetics to self-monitor their own glucose levels as part of their daily routine, without the assistance of a doctor or having to attend a hospital. If they discover their glucose levels are outside the required range, they can take corrective action immediately. In patients undergoing dialysis, the point-of-care sensors are able to assist them in their treatment and to detect any further problems.

Professor Bond’s Research Group sees the potential for expanding the sensor market based on electrochemical methodology to other areas of medical health care. Billions of sensors are manufactured every year for glucose sensing relevant to diabetes. It is often necessary to produce large volumes of low cost disposable electrodes and to manufacture them reliably.

Traditionally, the initial stages of the high tech manufacture of sensors are supported by venture capital funding. The Monash University Electrochemistry Group is working in collaboration with Oxford Biosensors in the United Kingdom to exploit commercial opportunities in point-of-care electrochemical sensing related to the health industry. 

Selected Publications

Wooster T.J., Bond A.M., Honeychurch M.J. (2003) An Analogy of an Ion-Selective Electrode Sensor Based on the Voltammetry of Microcrystals of Tetracyanoquinodimethane or Tetrathiafulvalene Adhered to an Electrode Surface Analytical Chemistry 75, 586-592.

Wooster T.J. & Bond A.M. (2003) Ion Selectivity obtained under Voltammetric Conditions when a TCNQ Chemically Modified Electrode is Presented with Tetraalkylammonium Cations Analyst 128, 1386-1390.

Harris A.R., Zhang J., Konash A., Elton D., Hyland M. & Bond A.M.  Efficient Strategy for Quality Control of Screen Printed Carbon Ink Disposable Sensor Electrodes Based on Simultaneous Evaluation of Resistance, Capacitance and Faradaic Current by Fourier Transform AC Voltammetry, J. Solid State Electrochem., accepted, Jan 2008.

Patents

A.M. Bond, M.J. Honeychurch, T.J. Wooster, Voltammetric Ion-Selective Biosensor 
British Patent 2002/03569, International Patent WO 2003/012417

J. Zhang, A.M. Bond, A. Harris, Voltammetric Ion Sensor
British Patent GB 2005/003988, International Patent WO 2006/040588

M. Hyland, A.M. Bond, Electrode Preconditioning
British Patent GB 2004/14548,International Patent WO 2005/GB2551