Did you know drug development and food can go hand in hand?
By better understanding what we put in our bodies, we can also learn what will serve our bodies best when we are sick.
Celia Garcia Hernandez, a doctoral student at the University of Valladolid in Spain, is working on her research at Missouri State University. With Dr. Adam Wanekaya, professor of chemistry, supervising, she is working on a project that adds to what she’s working on in Spain.
What the projects are
In Spain, Garcia Herandez is working on developing sensors, both bio and electrochemical, to analyze antioxidants in food. She’s focusing on polyphenols, which are found in grapes, mushrooms, olive oil and other foods.
At Missouri State, she’s working on making and modifying nanomaterials. She’s hoping to enhance detection of nanomaterial and target certain analytes. This translates into how to better deliver nanomaterials.
Both projects are headed toward two purposes: improving the delivery of drugs and enabling early detection of drugs in the body.
Time at Missouri State
One thing Garcia Hernandez has enjoyed in her time here is new techniques.
“I have had the opportunity of working with new techniques such as Dynamic Light Scattering to analyze particle sizes and surface charges. I have also developed nanomaterials and modified them with various biological molecules such as enzymes and nucleic acids,” Garcia Hernandez said. “If time permits, I also look forward to working with new techniques such as Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis.”
Garcia Hernandez has also enjoyed performing research in a different lab in a foreign country.
Learn more about Wanekaya’s work with nanomaterials.