Merkoçi Research Group

Casa
España
Barberà del Vallés
Merkoçi Research Group

List of publications (Google Scholar):
https://scholar.google.es/citations?hl=en&user=hF6hPeIAAAAJ&v

The research at Merkoçi Group focuses on discovering and technological development of the cutting edge nanotechnology and nanomaterials based simple biosensing platforms by employing and controlling their architectures at both nano and macro scales with the objective to link together nano and macro worlds.

31/07/2026

We congratulate Dr. Jefferson Henrique de Souza Carvalho, who was once a visiting PhD student in our group, for succesfully defending his thesis.

Parabéns Jefferson!! We are proud of you!!!

28/07/2026

Prof. Arben Merkoçi has joined the editorial board of Soft Science (IF 15.9), a journal led by YongAn Huang as Editor-in-Chief, and John A. Rogers as Honorary Editor-in-Chief.

Soft Science is an international peer-reviewed, open access, online journal. The past decade has witnessed an emerging and fast-growing field on mechanically soft systems, ranging from soft materials (e.g. hydrogels) to soft devices (e.g. flexible electronics), and to soft functional systems (e.g. soft robotics). It is envisioned that soft systems will continue to thrive in the coming decades in academia and industrial communities. The launch of Soft Science is to provide the first dedicated platform for publishing research findings and to share the knowledge among the communities.

Articles in Soft Science are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The CC BY 4.0 allows for maximum dissemination and re-use of open access materials and is preferred by many research funding bodies. Under this license users are free to share (copy, distribute and transmit) and remix (adapt) the contribution for any purposes, even commercially, provided that the users appropriately acknowledge the original authors and the source.

21/07/2026

Dr. Daniel Quesada González, has started a collaboration with Dr. Enrique Moret Ruiz and Dr. Eva Maria Martinez Caceres, from Hospital Germans Tries i Pujol ( ), to demonstrate the technical feasibility of detecting clinically relevant -associated biomarkers in real-world samples using a simple and affordable rapid test format. Successful completion of this proof-of-concept study will establish the basis for future collaborative projects between the hospital and Prof. Dr. Arben Merkoçi's group, on improving perioperative risk assessment in populations.

: Stress-associated Protein Assessment using lateral flow Rapid Kits

Population aging poses significant challenges for systems, particularly in the management of patients undergoing complex surgeries. Biological stress and have been associated with frailty, impaired recovery, and increased morbidity. aims to evaluate the feasibility of producing low-cost assays for the detection of selected stress and inflammation-related biomarkers.

21/07/2026

Last week we received a visit from Biosense Institute - Milica Trajković, Slađana Blažević and Isidora Čolić - our partners in the Know4Nano Project. The visitors visited several departments at our institute while accompanied by our group manager, Anna Puig Font, and Dr. Daniel Quesada González:
🔹 Marketing, Communication and Fundraising
🔹 Competitive Funding
🔹 Business and Innovation
🔹 Strategy Development
🔹 The Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Research Group, led by Prof. Dr. Arben Merkoçi.
We thank all our colleagues at ICN2 for kindly receiving our collaborators and would like to dedicate a special thanks to Anna Puig for coordinating the event.

16/06/2026

Our Spring Seminar presentations are officially done! 🌸

A day filled with insightful presentations, engaging discussions, and valuable knowledge sharing. We wrapped up the event with an International Pica Pica, enjoying great food, cultural exchange, and conversations together.
Thank you to everyone who presented, participated, and made this seminar a success! 💐

13/06/2026

We thank Prof. Dr. Nikola Z. Knezevic, from Biosense Institute (BioSense Institute, Novi Sad, Serbia), for visiting this week.

His visit was coordinated by Dr. Daniel Quesada (Daniel Quesada González) within the framework of project (Know4Nano). Nikola visited Prof. Arben Merkoçi (Arben Merkoçi) laboratories and gave a talk on the "Development and applications of Si-based materials".

Nikola Knezevic received his doctoral degree in 2009 at Iowa State University (Iowa State University), performing later several doctorstes in prestigious centers and universities, including the University of Houston, the Computense de Madrid, the Institute Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, the Vinca Nuclear Institute and the University of Montpellier.

22/05/2026

!

Do you want to start a next September?
Applications open now!
Check for information and apply at:
https://jobs.icn2.cat/job-openings/841/phd-student-nanobioelectronics-and-biosensors-group

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with background in chemical, biological or health sciences willing to learn about and !

08/05/2026

The EU is currently facing security challenges in a context of international instability. Among these are rising Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats. To enhance , it is crucial to develop medical countermeasures (MCMs) to protect both military and civilian populations. To address this gap, the RESILIENCE Framework Partnership Agreement was established in 2022, providing a multi-annual action plan to strengthen European MCM research based on three pillars: i) , ii) Prevention & iii) Prophylaxis and Treatment.

RESILIENCE-R-2025 is the third research action under this plan. It is composed of 4 sub-projects: i) DIAG BACT-Lab and Point of Care (POC) diagnosis of bacterial agents ; ii) AG-TEST-B-Next generation of antigenic and genetic tests for Biological (B) agents; iii) ANTIVIR-Antiviral medical countermeasures usable in an operational field, and iv) VECT-Advanced strategies for the administration and vectorization of Medical Counter measurements (MCM) against nerve agents. The action involves collaborations among 16 organizations from nine EU countries, including military, academic and industrial partners. The ultimate goal is to develop new MCM against chemical and biological threats that fulfil military operational and functional requirements. Diagnostic devices prototypes will be developed for the detection of highly risk pathogens. They include three technologies deployable on the field, i.e. next generation assays, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification, a breath analyser, and one detection device deployable in mobile labs, based on compact sequencing. The project will lead those innovative MCM candidates to TRL 4-5.

In the photo, some members of the subproject AG-TEST-B during the project kick-off meeting in Paris, including (from our group) Prof. Arben Merkoçi, Dr. Andrew Piper, Dr. Daniel Quesada Gonzàlez and MSc Carmine Andrea Esposito.

13/04/2026

We are pleased to welcome new members to our group.

Vanessa N. Ataide is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of São Paulo, São Paulo campus (Brazil). She is part of the Instrumental Analytical Chemistry Research Group. During her time with us, she will work on coupling carbon-based electrodes with lateral flow assays for the detection of cancer biomarkers.

Beatrice Francalanci is a PhD candidate in Industrial Engineering at the University of Florence, with a background in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering. She works in the Biomedical and Robotics Lab, led by Prof. Filippo Cavallo, and will join us for a six-month visiting period. Her research focuses on portable electrochemical sensing devices for non-invasive biomarker detection.

We are delighted to welcome them and look forward to fruitful collaborations. We hope they will have a productive and enjoyable time with us.

24/03/2026

ICREA Prof. Arben Merkoçi, leader of the ICN2 Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group, has reached an h-index of #100 according to Google Scholar, marking a significant milestone in his career. This achievement reflects the sustained efforts of both current and former members of his research group over more than two decades.

The h-index is a widely recognised metric that captures both the productivity and citation impact of a researcher’s publications. An h-index of 100 means that Prof. Merkoçi has authored at least 100 scientific papers that have each received 100 or more citations, placing him among a select group of highly cited scientists worldwide. In total, he has accumulated more than 38,000 citations across a body of work comprising over 300 peer-reviewed publications since 2007.

According to the Research.com ranking, Prof. Merkoçi is the number one scientist in the field of Electronics and Electrical Engineering in Spain. He was also recently invited to join the Institut d’Estudis Catalans in recognition of his outstanding research contributions in Catalonia, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology and biosensors. In addition, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Biosensors and Bioelectronics (impact factor 10.5), the leading journal in the field.

The research carried out by Prof. Merkoçi’s group focuses on integrating cutting-edge nanotechnology into next-generation biosensors, enhancing their performance while addressing key challenges such as sustainability, portability, ease of use and cost-effective production. Their work spans areas such as graphene stamping, inkjet printing and paper-based microfluidics, with applications in healthcare and environmental monitoring. This expertise has also led to the creation of two spin-off companies: Graphenicalab, focused on graphene-based devices, and Paperdrop Diagnostics, dedicated to the development of rapid diagnostic tests for emerging diseases.

At ICN2, we would like to congratulate Prof. Arben Merkoçi and his research group on this important achievement.

More info at: https://icn2.cat/en/news/5593-prof-arben-merkoci-reaches-an-h-index-of-100

Dirección

ICN2, Campus UAB
Barberà Del Vallés
08193

Página web

http://www.nanobiosensors.org/

Notificaciones

Sé el primero en enterarse y déjanos enviarle un correo electrónico cuando Merkoçi Research Group publique noticias y promociones. Su dirección de correo electrónico no se utilizará para ningún otro fin, y puede darse de baja en cualquier momento.