Congratulations to PhD Candidate, Ben McKenzie (La Trobe University), who delivered his confirmation seminar on 7 October 2025, on ‘Electrochemical biosensing using smartphones’.

qPCR is the gold standard nucleic acid amplification technique used for nucleic acid detection in biosensing. However, with existing technologies, a low-cost, low-burden, point-of-use sensing technology is not available.

LAMP is a robust, highly specific, simple, and semi-quantitative technique that has been used for nucleic acid detection. It boasts similar diagnostic results to PCR. By incorporating low-cost disposable electrochemical sensors with the abilities of LAMP, the size and cost of the biosensing setup can be greatly reduced, making the technique more adaptable for point-of-use sensing.

The need for a detection instrument can be replaced with an everyday smartphone by combining electrochemical LAMP (EC-LAMP) with Android voltammetry, a technique developed in the Hogan lab at La Trobe University.

Furthermore, a small, lightweight, portable heating block is all that will be required for amplifying nucleic acid samples using LAMP, something that can be made for under $1,000.

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Ben McKenzie is a PhD Candidate with the ARC Research Hub for Molecular Biosensors at Point-of-Use (MOBIUS) at La Trobe University. He is a graduate of La Trobe’s Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting)/Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) double degree. In 2023, he completed Honours in electrochemistry under the supervision of Professor Conor Hogan, entitled Towards Instrument-free DNA Biosensing using Fourier Transform Alternating Current Voltammetry.