Africa: The New Frontier in Frugal Innovations in Chemical Analysis Platforms

Samuel Mugo, Physical Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, Canada
Anthony Gachanja, Physical Sciences, Jomo Kenyatta University Of Agriculture And Technology, Thika, Kenya

Africa is home to youthful nations, with many 'good' problems yet to be solved in environment, nutrition, health etc. Driven by lack of established infrastructure common in developed countries such as, telecommunications, centralized water treatment, established medical care systems, etc., Africa is on the verge of addressing these problems via decentralized highly sustainable infrastructureless innovations, creating unlimited opportunities. A collaborative research team involving Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya and MacEwan University, Edmonton, Alberta, Kenya, frugal optical and electrochemical sensor technologies fabricated using local materials (mainly nanocellulose and biochars) that can be used for environmental pollution mitigation, public health, national security and anti-terrorism, energy conservation, poaching eradication and food quality sensing are being explored. The presentation will also demonstrate the capacity for hyphenation of these sensors to cellular devices for remote chemical analysis. Our initiative that involves training of scientists in Africa on techniques such as solid phase microextraction coupled to GC-MS will be highlighted. The presentation will showcase the value of strategic collaborations between academia in developed countries and the emerging nations (African nations). Africa offers rich opportunities for adoption of applied research technologies towards solving societal problems, with analytical chemistry as the interface of the interdisciplinary research needed to find sustainable solutions. These collaborations undoubtedly create new unforeseen innovations, a win-win scenario between participating researchers and countries.