A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nanotechnology

Thesis (M. Sc.) -- Asian Institute of Technology, 2020

The presence of pharmaceutical residue, especially antibiotic wastes in water or in some food products can cause serious health issues to humans and other organisms (antimicrobial resistance). Including controllable risk factors, recognition of their existence in the environment is necessary to ensure a healthy environment. Among various analytical methods to detect pharmaceutical wastes, the development of bio nano sensors has been growing very fast due to their simplicity, high sensitivity, fast detection, inexpensiveness and portability. A portable microfluidic sensing device with an integrated localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) surface is presented in this study. The primary focus of the study is to design an inexpensive but effective sensor for the detection of antibiotics. The sensor is composed of gold (Au) nanoparticles distributed over an array of vertically aligned zinc oxide nanorods, where Au nanoparticles are modified with specific aptamer for selective detection of the waste molecules. The sensor was tested against various antibiotic wastes and indicated a high sensitivity and excellent selectivity. A microfluidic sensor device was then assembled and successfully demonstrated with fast and effective detection ampicillin antibiotic as waste showing high sensitivity with detection limit up to 6.7 ppm ampicillin concentration and rapid time of analysis (less than 2 min).