Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Interests
Infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and food integrity present significant challenges to public health globally. My research focuses on three main research topics exploiting cutting-edge micro- and nano-technologies to address these global challenges:
- Synthesis and fabrication of nanomaterials exhibiting high quality plasmonic and enzyme-mimicking activities for biosensing.
- Development of nanozymes and nanoplasmonics-based biosensing platforms, including but not limited to SPR, LSPR, SERS, and particle-based detections.
- Development of point-of-care analyses: we aim to incorporate and transfer molecular diagnostic techniques and nanotransducers on to compact lab-on-a-chip formats.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R3721GFS: Marine Freshwater Toxins Spectroscopy Review
Cao, C. (PI) & Haughey, S. (CoI)
10/09/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R3592GFS: Validation and Demonstration of Rapid and Portable SERS-based Detection Technology for Pesticide Residues in Rice
Cao, C. (PI), Elliott, C. (CoI) & Haughey, S. (CoI)
26/03/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R1245GFS: Safe food in a world of changing climate: The doctoral training programme to develop novel control, mitigation and risk assessment methods for biotoxins
Cao, C. (PI), Haughey, S. (CoI) & Meneely, J. (CoI)
07/09/2023 → …
Project: Research
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R1724GFS: Holistic approach for tackling food systems risks in a changing global environment
Cao, C. (PI) & Elliott, C. (CoI)
13/09/2022 → …
Project: Research
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R5218GFS: Development and evaluation of rapid handheld spectroscopic techniques for detecting pesticides and mycotoxins in chillies
Elliott, C. (PI) & Cao, C. (CoI)
01/03/2022 → …
Project: Research
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Smartphone-based immunochemical sensor exploiting peroxidase-like activity of ligand-capped gold nanostars: a proof-of-concept detection of Mycobacterium bovis
Lou-Franco, J., Zhao, Y., Neils, J. L. D., Stewart, L., Rafferty, K., Elliott, C. & Cao, C., 15 Jan 2023, In: Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 220, 10 p., 114857.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile27 Citations (Scopus)127 Downloads (Pure) -
Nanozymes in point-of-care diagnosis: an emerging futuristic approach for biosensing
Das, B., Lou Franco, J., Logan, N., Balasubramanian, P., Kim, M. I. & Cao, C., 13 Sept 2021, In: Nano-Micro Letters. 13, 51 p., 193.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile168 Citations (Scopus)418 Downloads (Pure) -
Catalytic gold nanostars for SERS-based detection of mercury ions (Hg2+) with inverse sensitivity
Logan, N., Lou Franco, J., Elliott, C. & Cao, C., 01 Sept 2021, In: Environmental Science: Nano. 8, 9, p. 2718 - 2730 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile44 Citations (Scopus)75 Downloads (Pure) -
Gold Nanozymes: From Concept to Biomedical Applications
Lou-Franco, J., Das, B., Elliott, C. & Cao, C., 27 Oct 2020, In: Nano-Micro Letters. 13, 1, 36 p., 10.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile215 Citations (Scopus)317 Downloads (Pure) -
Amalgamated gold-nanoalloys with enhanced catalytic activity for the detection of mercury ions (Hg2+) in seawater samples
Logan, N., McVey, C., Elliott, C. & Cao, C., 14 Mar 2020, In: Nano Research. 13, 4, p. 989-998Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile56 Citations (Scopus)194 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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2023 ESI Top Article Award
Cao, C. (Recipient), Lou Franco, J. (Recipient), Das, B. (Recipient) & Elliott, C. (Recipient), 2023
Prize: National/international honour
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Brain Korea 21 (BK21) Award, Korea
Cao, C. (Recipient), 2008
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Research Award
Cao, C. (Recipient), 2003
Prize: Fellowship awarded competitively
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NTU’s Selected delegates at Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS@onenorth), Singapore
Cao, C. (Recipient), 2013
Prize: National/international honour
Activities
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NI Science Festival 2025
Cao, C. (Speaker)
15 Feb 2025Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in Festival/Exhibition
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Gold Nanoparticles as Enzyme Mimicry for Food Safety Analysis
Cao, C. (Invited speaker)
14 Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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the 18th China International Food Safety & QualityConference
Cao, C. (Session chair)
31 Oct 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Low-cost, Nanoparticle-on-film Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Detecting Micro- and Nanoplastics
Cao, C. (Invited speaker)
30 Oct 2024Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited or keynote talk at national or international conference
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Acting as an External Examiner for a PhD thesis
Cao, C. (Examiner)
23 Oct 2024 → 23 Nov 2024Activity: Examination types › PhD external examination
Press/Media
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Evaluating Micro- and Nanoplastics from Chewing Gum with SERS
13/01/2025
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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Testing food and drink products for microplastics
14/08/2019
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Enzyme biomarker test could detect disease and infection
30/01/2019
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Queen's University researchers develop new test to detect disease and infection
17/01/2019
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities