Research - Our Team

Claudio Parolo studied Biotechnology at the University of Padova and obtained his PhD from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2013. His PhD thesis focused on the use of paper as sustainable and low-cost platform for different types of biosensors.

During his postdoctoral period, he joined the Prof. McKendry’s group at the University College London/London Centre for Nanotechnology where he developed lateral flow assays for various infectious diseases (Influenza, HIV and Ebola). Then, thanks to a Beatriu de Pinós fellowship, he joined Prof. Plaxco’s group at the University of California Santa Barbara. There he worked on electrochemical aptamer-based and DNA-scaffold sensors for monitoring various protein biomarkers. Finally, he returned to Spain and joined Prof. Merkoçi’s group at the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology thanks to a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship. During his second period in the Merkoçi group, he worked on several paper-based platforms such as lateral flow assays and paper-electrode to integrate DNA-based sensors.

Currently, Claudio Parolo works as an Associated Researcher in Prof. Muñoz’s group at the University of Barcelona. He is working on the development of rapid diagnostic tests for travel medicine, including lateral flow assays and various electrochemical sensors for malaria, strongyloidiasis, and dengue.

Lines of research

• Development of lateral flow assays.
• Development of electrochemical biosensors. 

Main publications

• Tutorial: design and fabrication of nanoparticlebased lateral-flow immunoassays. Parolo C., Sena-Torralba A., Bergua J.F., Calucho E., Fuentes-Chust C., Hu L., Rivas L., Álvarez-Diduk R., Nguyen E.P., Cinti S., Quesada-González D., Merkoçi A. Nature Protocols 2020, 15, 3788-3816. Doi: 10.1038/s41596-020-0357-x 
• Real-time monitoring of a protein biomarker. Parolo C., Idili A., Ortega G., Csordas A., Hsu A., Arroyo N., Ferguson S., Wang J.P., Plaxco K. W. ACS Sensors 2020, 5, 7, 1877–1881. Doi: 10.1021/acssensors.0c01085
• E-DNA scaffold sensors and the reagentless, single-step, measurement of HIV-diagnostic antibodies in human serum. Parolo C., Shruti Greenwood A., Ogden N. E., Kang D., Hawes C., Plaxco K. W. Microsystems & Nanoengineering 2020, 6, 13. Doi: 10.1038/s41378-019-0119-5 
• Enhanced lateral flow immunoassay using gold nanoparticles loaded with enzymes. Parolo C., de la Escosura-Muñiz A., Merkoçi A. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2013, 40, 412-416. Doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2012.06.049
• Simple paper architecture modifications lead to enhanced sensitivity in nanoparticle based lateral flow immunoassay.  Parolo C., Medina-Sànchez M., de la Escosura-Muñiz A., Mekoçi A. Lab on a Chip 2013, 13, 386-390. Doi: 10.1039/C2LC41144J.