Young Scientist Award 2008
Physical, Information & Engineering Sciences

Dr Liu Bin
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
National University of Singapore

“For her outstanding research on polymer chemistry and the application of polymers in biosensors and solar cells”

Dr Liu’s research lies in the areas of design and synthesis of organic molecules with architectures that optimize their optical and electrical performances, with particular emphasis on the development of water-soluble conjugated polymers and exploration of their applications in biosensors, chemosensors and optoelectronic devices. Dr Liu is the principal investigator who demonstrated the basis of using conducting polymers for label- free gene detection and for optical signal amplification in the solid state that will have high impact on microarray technologies. Her research team is also the first to utilize the fluorescence change of conjugated polymers for visual detection and quantification of chemicals and biomolecules.

Dr Liu’s achievements have gained international recognition in the polymer community. Her publication list includes 60 papers in top international journals, and these have been cited over 1,000 times during the past five years. She also holds 14 patents in relation to the application of water-soluble polymers in biosensors and devices, among which ten have been transferred or used to spin-off a start-up company. Her research team is currently working on the polymer amplified PCR free microarray technology for real-time detection of genes and pathogens.

In addition, Dr Liu’s research team also works on conjugated polymer-based solid state dye sensitized solar cells and has achieved good device performance that could champion this type of solar cells in efficiency. For her outstanding research on polymer chemistry and the application of polymers in biosensors and solar cells, Dr Liu Bin is awarded the 2008 Young Scientist Award.