Chemistry and chemical engineering biomedical team's work recognized on research journal covers
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University’s Dr. Gopan Krishnan of the Department of Chemistry and Dr. Joshua Ramsey of the School of Chemical Engineering — along with their teams of students — recently published NIH-funded biomedical research that garnered the attention of two prestigious journals.
The American Chemical Society journal, ACS Measurement Science, featured “Colorimetric Hybridization Sensor for DNA Mimic of a SARS-CoV-2 RNA Marker: Direct and Inverse Bioanalysis” as a supplementary cover in September 2024 and the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal, Sensors and Diagnostics put “Visual Colorimetric Insulin Detection in Human Serum” on its October 2024 cover.
“It's a great honor and a testament to our group’s contributions to molecular diagnostics and sensor technology,” Krishnan said. “This recognition highlights the impact of our work in advancing efficient diagnostic methods.”
Summarizing their work with colorimetric hybridization sensors for DNA, the researchers explained that they aim to help those with limited resources and lack of access to instrument-based and clinical laboratory methods for disease detection in remote settings. Krishnan and Ramsey’s research supports the broader scientific and medical communities by offering an accessible and cost-effective diagnostic approach that can enhance disease surveillance and response efforts worldwide.
“Truly accurate diagnostic tests for infectious agents, such as SARS-CoV-2, are expensive and require specialized equipment and training,” Ramsey said. “The colorimetric tests that Dr. Krishnan and I are working on have the potential to be sensitive, accurate and can be done at home by the average person.”
With a team of undergraduate and graduate students working alongside them, Krishnan and Ramsey are able to actively troubleshoot existing limitations and develop a more efficient, instrument-free diagnostic method to address these critical diagnostic issues.
“Collaboration allows us to tackle problems that are more challenging than the problems we can solve on our own,” Ramsey said. “By combining Dr. Krishnan's expertise in sensor development and my background working with viruses and viral genes, you get a team who is well-qualified to do something that is very practical and potentially impactful.”
Krishnan and Ramsey acknowledged the impact their publications may have on both communities and future researchers in part because of the access to and popularity of ACS and RSC.
“We are fully capable of addressing major global challenges,” Krishnan said. “Additionally, OSU’s open access Read and Publish agreement with ACS ensures that our research is freely available to anyone, anywhere, at no cost. This accessibility allows students, educators and researchers to engage with our work and be inspired by the innovative research happening at OSU.”
Story By: Adeola Favour, CAS graduate assistant | fadeola@okstate.edu