Publications

Helena Montón's Publications

Rapid on-chip apoptosis assay on human carcinoma cells based on annexin-V / quantum dot probes

Helena Montón, Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Joan Antoni Soler, Andrzej Chałupniak, Carme Nogués, Arben Merkoçi. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2017, Vol 94, pp 408-414
Despite all the efforts made over years to study the cancer expression and the metastasis event, there is not a clear understanding of its origins and effective treatment. Therefore, more specialized and rapid techniques are required for studying cell behaviour under different drug-based treatments. Here we present a quantum dot...

Water Activated Graphene Oxide Transfer Using Wax Printed Membranes for Fast Patterning of a Touch Sensitive Device

Luis Baptista-Pires, Carmen C. Mayorga-Martínez, Mariana Medina-Sánchez Helena Montón and Arben Merkoçi. ACS Nano, 2016, 10 (1), pp 853–860
We demonstrate a graphene oxide printing technology using wax printed membranes for the fast patterning and water activation transfer using pressure based mechanisms. The wax printed membranes have 50 μm resolution, longtime stability and infinite shaping capability. The use of these membranes complemented with the vacuum filtration...

Annexin-V/Quantum dot probes for multimodal apoptosis monitoring in living cells: improving bioanalysis using electrochemistry

Helena Monton, Claudio Parolo, Antonio Aranda-Ramos, Arben Merkoçi and Carme Nogués . Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 4097-4104
There is a great demand to develop novel techniques that allow useful and complete monitoring of apoptosis, which is a key factor of several diseases and target of drug development. Here, we present the use of a novel dual electrochemical/optical label for the detection and study of apoptosis. We combined the specificity of Annexin-V...

Paper-Based Electrodes for Nanoparticle Detection

Claudio Parolo , Mariana Medina-Sánchez , Helena Montón , Alfredo de la Escosura-Muñiz , and Arben Merkoçi. Particle & Particle Systems Characterization, 2013, 30(8), 662–666
The fabrication, characterization, and applications of paper-based screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) are discussed. In particular, microscopy images of the working electrode surface show a reproducible 3D pattern that enhances the performance of the device compared to that of a polyester-based SPCE.Gold nanoparticles and CdSe@ZnS...

The use of quantum dots for immunochemistry applications

Helena Montón; Mónica Roldán; Arben Merkoçi; Emma Rossinyol; Onofre Castell; Carme Nogués. Methods in Molecular Biology 2012; 906, 185-192
Immunocytochemistry and histochemistry are two most valuable immunochemistry techniques routinely used in biological laboratories. These techniques rely on the use of antibodies to label epitopes of interest in cells. At present, there is a wide range of commercially available organic dyes for labeling antibodies. However, limited...

Signal enhancement in antibody microarrays using quantum dots nanocrystals: Application to potential Alzheimer’s disease biomarker screening

Eden Morales-Narváez, Helena Montón, Anna Fomicheva, Arben Merkoçi. Anal. Chem., 2012, 84 (15), pp 6821–6827
The performance of cadmium-selenide/zinc-sulfide (CdSe@ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) and the fluorescent dye Alexa 647 as reporter in an assay designed to detect apolipoprotein E (ApoE) has been compared. The assay is a sandwich immunocomplex microarray that functions via excitation by visible light. ApoE was chosen for its potential...

Rapid and high sensitive detection of mercury ions using a fluorescence based paper test strip with a N-alkylaminopyrazole ligand as receptor

Gemma Aragay, Helena Montón, Josefina Pons, Mercè Font-Bardía, Arben Merkoçi. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22, 5978-5983. 2012
Easy-to-synthesize N-alkylaminopyrazole ligands are used in a proof-of-concept fluorescent sensor that can operate as a simple ‘paper test’ for rapid and highly sensitive mercury detection in water. A significant enhancement of fluorescence emission in aqueous media for the Hg2+ detection at concentrations lower than 0.1 ppb...