UST Graduate School (UST-GS) student Ms. Beatrice Marie R. Carreon, a candidate for the Master of Science in Chemistry of the UST Graduate School, was one of the participants recognized for best oral presentation at the Asian Conference on Chemical Sensors 2024 (ACCS 2024) held in Kitakyushu, Japan from November 17 to 20, 2024.
With her research titled “Phage-modified Screen-printed Carbon Electrodes for the Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meat Buffer Extracts ”, her presentation focused on using screen-printed carbon electrodes modified with a locally isolated bacteriophage to detect Listeria monocytogenes in artificially spiked salami and ham buffer extracts.
Her research, under the supervision of Prof. Jose H. Bergantin, Jr., Ph.D., and Assoc. Prof. Donna May D.C. Papa, Ph.D., aims to develop biosensors utilizing the highly specific bacterial virus, bacteriophage. Bacteriophage lv-BEATS11 is a locally isolated bacteriophage that is purified and characterized by the UST Bacteriophage Ecology, Aquaculture, Therapy and Systematics (BEATS) Research Group from chicken fecal matter obtained from a poultry farm in Bulacan.
Carreon’s thesis was part of the research findings of the DOST-PCHRD project of Bergantin and Papa titled, “Bacteriophages in Food Safety: Biosensing and Biocontrol of Food Pathogens.”
Bergantin’s research group, Bacteriophage EIS-biosensor Research Group (BERG), focuses on the development of electrochemical biosensors using bacteriophages in the detection of foodborne pathogens (i.e., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium) for food safety applications. Papa’s BEATS Research Group spearheads bacteriophage research in the country for applications such as biocontrol and antibiotic-resistant pathogen elimination.
Carreon’s recognition was given by the event’s organizing committee and the journal Chemistry Letters. Her thesis was also previously awarded the Best Poster Award at the Philippine Chemistry Congress (38th PCC) held in Davao City last July 2024.
In the same parallel session, invited speaker Academician Fortunato Sevilla III, Ph.D., presented the research titled, “Amperometric Sensor for Iodate in Food Grade Salt Based on Screen-printed Carbon Electrode.” Meanwhile, Dr. Ernesto Paruli III also presented the findings of his dissertation titled, “Tailoring the 3D Design of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers via Two-photon Stereolithography and Photoiniferter Polymerization.”
The 2024 ACCS was organized by the Japan Association of Chemical Sensors (JACS) and the Electrochemical Society of Japan. The conference was held at Kitakyushu International Convention Center (KICC) Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan.
