Congratulations to Dr. Wanmai Srisuwanno and Dr. Zikkawas Pasom, PHCC alumni from the School of Energy Science and Engineering (ESE) under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chularat Wattanakit and Prof. Dr. Alexander Kuhn, for the recent article in Electrochimica Acta.

Topic: Magnetic field–enhanced enantioselective recognition at chiral metal nanostructures

The development of enantioselective analytical tools is of importance in modern chemistry. One of the challenges lies in obtaining high sensitivity while still maintaining satisfactory discrimination between the enantiomers. In this contribution, we report the first example of using the synergy between the specific structures of chiral-imprinted metal electrodes and magnetohydrodynamic convection, generated at the electrode surface, to improve chiral discrimination. The magnetohydrodynamic effect, caused by positioning an external magnetic field orthogonal to the electrode surface, leads to enhanced mass transport, improving the sensitivity, especially in the low concentration regime, by almost 200 %. As this effect is independent of the chiral analyte, it opens interesting perspectives in the broader framework of the electroanalysis of chiral compounds. This work has been funded by the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Unit (Awarded R&D grant no. FA2386-23-1-4015), and the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) (e-ASIA JRP program, N11A690542). In addition, W.S. and Z.P. are grateful for a Ph.D. cotutelle scholarship, sponsored by Campus France, the French Embassy in Thailand, VISTEC and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). W.S. also acknowledges the funding from the Srimedhi Royal Scholarship. This project was also supported by CNRS through the IRP project ChiraChem and the French Academy of Science. 

Access full paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2026.149581