Agneta Richter-Dahlfors, Karolinska Institutet och KTH

Professor at Karolinska Institutet and at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Affiliated Professor at Karlstad University

Professor Richter-Dahlfors is Director of AIMES – Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences, an interdisciplinary research center co-hosted by the Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. With highly multidisciplinary competences, she holds a Professor position in Cellular Microbiology at KI, and in Chemistry and Biotechnology at KTH. Her multidisciplinary research group bridges across (bio-)medicine and engineering, thus she is innovating and publishing in both fields. Among her broad research interests are bacterial infections, opto-electronic sensors for biopolymer detection, and non-destructive analytics of lignocellulosic biomass to mention a few. Richter-Dahlfors holds several patents, and is engaged in entrepreneurial activities as founder of companies spanning across the Biotech, Med-tech and Green-tech fields.

Non-destructive analytics visualize the chemistry of lignocellulosic materials across all hierarchical structures

We pioneer the fluorescence-based technique optotracing, a first-of-its-kind non-disruptive analytical method visualizing the spatial localization of carbohydrates and other biomacromolecules in native plant tissues. Visual maps of the lignocellulose anatomy at sub-cellular resolution provide comprehensive understanding of the distribution of cellulose, lignin and other biomolecules within the biomass. Also, the detailed information optotracing provides on the physical and chemical changes a biomass undergoes at each step of a defibrillation process will be demonstrated, along with spectrophotometric analysis of lignocellulosic matrix in bulk suspensions, and real-time analysis of dynamic processses such as cellulolysis.