How can a polymer help detect plant disease? For first-year chemistry students at the University of Burgos, POMATO offered an early glimpse of how materials chemistry can move from the laboratory towards real-world applications.
As a new academic year began at the University of Burgos (UBU), first-year chemistry students were introduced not only to university life, but also to some of the possibilities that chemistry can open up beyond the classroom.
As part of the welcome activities for new students, the UBU team used research from the POMATO project to illustrate how polymers can be designed to detect specific compounds and how these properties can be applied across very different fields.
Seeing chemistry in action
The example presented to the students came from POMATO’s work on smart polymers for straightforward and early disease detection.
Within POMATO, researchers at UBU are exploring smart polymeric sensing materials as part of the project’s wider effort to improve the early detection of bacterial diseases affecting potato and tomato crops.
To make this concept tangible for the new chemistry students, the team presented images showing an increase in fluorescence in the presence of an enzyme. This provided a visual example of how a material can respond to a specific biological target and how chemical properties can ultimately be transformed into a detectable signal.
For students at the very beginning of their chemistry studies, the example offered a direct connection between the concepts they will encounter during their degree and the kinds of challenges researchers are already addressing.
From materials chemistry to healthier crops
Early disease detection is an important part of the POMATO approach. Detecting signs associated with infection as early as possible could support faster and better-informed decisions and complement the other diagnostic, biological and management approaches being developed across the project.
The UBU team’s work therefore sits at the intersection of materials chemistry, sensing technologies and plant health.
Introducing this research to first-year students also highlights another dimension of EU-funded research projects: beyond generating new scientific knowledge, they provide opportunities to bring current research into education and show students how their field can contribute to tackling practical societal challenges.
For POMATO, it was a chance to introduce a new generation of chemistry students to the project and perhaps give them an early example of where their own future work in science could lead.