Mrs L Cronje

Part-time Jr Lecturer Office Room 2016, Polymer Science Building Tel: +27-21-808 2866 Email

 

Tertiary education

• MSc, University of Stellenbosch, 1994
• PhD, University of Stellenbosch, 2012

Research emphasis

Polymer nanofibers, magnetic nanoparticles, diagnostics

Research summary

Research in our group focuses on the modification and functionalization of polymer nanostructures for a function specific purpose. We are interested in the synthesis of these materials, their characterization and application in the field of diagnostics.

Research description

Paediatric tuberculosis (TB) is difficult to diagnose, since young children and infants, who bear the brunt of the paediatric disease burden, cannot spontaneously expectorate sputum and they have low bacterial loads, thence conventional diagnostic tools are not very effective. Improving the specimen collection methods to yield specimens with a higher bacteriological load for fast and accurate detection can increase the sensitivity of many of these diagnostic tools.

In this project we are focusing on developing an effective polymer-based Mycobacterium tuberculosis-capturing platform as a specimen collection tool by modifying polymers with ligands that have high binding affinity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes TB. These polymers are then processed into nanostructures such as nanofibers and nanoparticles for the benefit of their high specific surface area, making them ideal as specimen collection platforms for diagnostic purposes.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis captured on polymer nanofibers

The Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science houses several laboratories with the required infrastructure for polymer synthesis and modification. These fully managed, recently renovated modern laboratories are equipped with the required instrumentation for the above-mentioned activities. The Department also has a full range of specialized equipment for analyses and characterization.

Publications

1. Cronje, L.; Warren, R.; Klumperman, B. pH-Dependent adhesion of mycobacteria to surface-modified polymer nanofibers – J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, 1, 6608-6618

2. Cronje, L.; Klumperman, B. Modified electrospun polymer nanofibers as affinity membranes: The effect of pre-spinning modification versus post-spinning modification - Eur. Polym. J. 2013, 49, 3814-3824