Enabling the next Analytical Chemistry Revolution: Advancing Techniques to Measure Single Species at a High Spatiotemporal Resolution

Recent advances in Analytical chemistry have enabled direct detection and analysis of chemical species in situ with miniaturized and robust chemical sensors and/or biosensors. The next frontier in analytical chemistry is the detection and analysis of a single entity (a molecule, a cell or a particle) at a high spatiotemporal resolution in various samples. There is a significant benefit in measuring a single entity. For example, in biology, a tissue contains a diverse population of cells. The development of technologies allowing the systematic investigation of single cells, is critical to understanding the biological architecture and function in normal as well as diseased tissues. A promising technique to achieve ultimate analytical sensitivity to detect a single species with the high spatiotemporal resolution is Single Entity electrochemistry (SEE), also called impact electrochemistry. SEE is based on the change of the signal upon a single species interacting with an ultramicroelectrode (UME). Currently, there are tremendous needs in both fundamental understandings of SEE events as well as the strategies for practical applications of SEE methods such as in life science (e.g detection of a single virus or molecule in situ and in vivo) and environmental science (e.g. detection of a single particle in situ). This symposium will cover the following topics, but not limited to, including new methods to detect/image single species, design and fabricate UME for in vitro or/and in vivo detection of single species, fundamental processes of impact electrochemistry, data analysis and modeling of a stochastic SEE process, novel applications in life sciences and diagnosis, etc. This symposium will offer a great opportunity for people interested in this new frontier in analytical chemistry to share information and progress, as well as connect and form collaborations.