Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)

The group of Prof. Wagner is a research team within the Laboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, KU Leuven, Belgium. The group works on novel label-free biosensing methods towards medical diagnostics, as well as food safety and environmental monitoring applications. The research team has developed substantial expertise in the synthesis of biomimetic receptors for whole-cell detection (e.g., prokaryotes and eukaryotes), viruses, and small biomolecules (e.g., proteins, neurotransmitters) in complex media such as body fluids, food and beverages. The group is a pioneer in the design and fabrication of portable biosensing devices using novel and conventional techniques such as:

1. Interfacial thermal transport analysis (e.g., hot-wire, heat transfer method HTM)
2. Charge transfer analysis (e.g., electrochemical impedance spectroscopy EIS)
3. Microgravimetry (e.g., quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring QCM-D)

instrumental facilities. The team has solid expertise in the physics of polymers, glasses, liquids and biological matter, especially at the molecular and cellular levels. The analytical facilities include dielectric spectroscopy, microgravimetry, photo-acoustics, calorimetry, and scanning probe microscopy including nanoscale optics.