Professor/Reader at the Department of Engineering and Mathematics, Materials and Engineering Research Institute at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
He got BSc/MSc degrees from Kiev University (Ukraine) in 1973 and PhD from the Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1984. His original field of expertise in semiconductor physics and microelectronics was later expanded to molecular electronics and organic (Langmuir-Blodgett) films during his work at the Laboratory of Molecular Electronics at the above institute. Alexei Nabok joined Sheffield Hallam University in 1996 and continued his research in molecular systems, chemical- and bio- sensing. In 2012 his research achievements were rewarded at Sheffield Hallam University by giving him the title of Professor in Organic Films and Sensors.
The highlights of the research work of Prof. Nabok in the area of organic films, nanostructures, chemical- and biosensor include (i) the study of extremely small metal-sulfide nanoparticles in LB films of calixarenes; (ii) establishing a mechanism of capillary condensation of solvent vapors in LB films of calixarenes which resulted in development of sensors for VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), (iii) the development of the method of Total Internal Reflection Ellipsometry and its applications in biosensing for detection of a wide range of analytes including toxic chemicals and bio-markers; (iv) the development of planar waveguide biosensor for detection of mycotoxins; (v) the use of aptamers in detection of various analytes from heavy metal ions and small molecules of mycotoxins to biomarkers; (vi) the development of bacteria-based electrochemical sensor arrays for preliminary detection (screening) of environmental toxins (see corresponding references below).
Alexei Nabok authors more than 200 research papers including a book (A. Nabok, Organic and Inorganic Nanostructures, 2005, Artech House) and several book chapters. He was a leader and a partner in several research projects funded by EU, EPSRC, NATO, British Council, and he built an extensive collaboration network with different research groups in UK universities and companies as well as with research groups in overseas institutions in Europe and worldwide. Alexei is a member of the International Program Committee of European Conferences on Organized Films (ECOF), and he organized ECOF-12 conference in Sheffield in 2011. He carries extensive editorial work for several major Publishing Houses (i.e. Elsevier, ACS, IoP, Royal Society, Springer, MDPI and research funding committees (HORIZON, EPSRC, British Council). Prof. Nabok combines research work with teaching and supervision; he supervised and examined many PhD, MSc, and undergraduate project students.
Selected publications: (1) S. Takita, A. Nabok, et al., Ultrasensitive detection of prostate cancer marker PCA3 with impedimetric biosensor based on specific label-free aptamers, Biosens. & Bioelectron., 18 (2024), 100462; (2) C. Ozkaya, A. Nabok, F. Davis, et al., Metal sulfide sub-nanometer clusters formed within calix(8)arene Langmuir-Blodgett films. Thin Solid Films, 782 (2023) 140024; (3) A. Nabok, H. Abu-Ali. S. Takita, D. Smith, Electrochemical detection of prostate cancer biomarker PCA3 using specific aptamer labelled with ferrocene. Chemosensors 2021, 9, 59; (4) H. Abu-Ali, C. Ozkaya, F. Davis, A. Nabok, et al., Electrochemical aptasensor for detection of dopamine, Chemosensors, 8 (2020), 28: (5) A. Al-Jawdah, A. Nabok, et al., Highly sensitive label-free in-vitro detection of aflatoxin B1 in aptamer assay using optical planar waveguide operating as polarization interferometer, Anal. & Bioanal. Chem., 2019, 411(29), 7717-7724; (6) H. Abu-Ali, A. Nabok, T.J. Smith, Electrochemical inhibition sensor array for detection of water pollutants: ANN approach, Anal. & Bioanal. Chem., 2019, 411(29), 7659-7668; (7) H. Abu-Ali, A. Nabok, T. J. Smith, Development of novel and highly specific DNA-aptamer based electrochemical biosensor for rapid detection of Mercury (II) and Lead (II) ions in water samples, Chemosensors, 2019,7 (2), 27; (8) A. Al Rubaye, A. Nabok, et al., Optical aptamer biosensors based on gold nanostructures for detection of mycotoxins, Toxins, 10(7), 2018, 291; (9) A. Nabok, et al., Novel optical biosensing technologies for detection of mycotoxins, Optics & Laser Technol., 109 (219) 212–221; (10) A. Nabok, A. Tsargorodska, et al., Detection of low molecular weight toxins using optical phase detection techniques, Sensors &Actuators B, Chem., 2011, 154( 2), 232-237; (11) M.K. Mustafa, A. Nabok, et al., Detection of β-amyloid peptide and amyloid precursor protein using spectroscopic ellipsometry and QCM techniques: a step forward towards Alzheimers disease diagnostics, Biosens. & Bioelectron., 2010, 26, 1332-133; (12) A. Holloway, A. Nabok, et al., The use of calixarene thin films in the sensor array for VOCs detection and olfactory navigation, Sensors & Transducers, 2010, 113 (2), 71-81.