About the Project
One of the major challenges to modern food industry is the demand by consumers of products that look appealing for longer periods of time and the preference by consumers for minimally processed products that do not contain “chemical” preservatives. This has encouraged the uses of natural preservatives such as Nisin. However, these natural preservatives have limited shell-live and can be easily degraded. As such, there is a need to develop novel formulations for these natural food preservatives, to improve their stability and increase their spectrum of application, as additives in both food and packaging.
In this project we are looking for a highly motivated student to work at the interface between polymer chemistry, surface-science and microbiology. In the first stage of the project, we will develop formulation that can prevent exogenous degradation of these natural preservatives. These formulations will be tested both in solution and on surfaces. In a second stage of the project, we will optimise these formulations to modulate the release of these food-preservatives. This project is highly multidisciplinary and involves a collaboration between the Schools of Chemistry (Dr F. Fernandez-Trillo), and Chemical Engineering (Dr Z. J. Zhang and Dr Kostas Gkatzionis)
For further details about the project, please contact Dr Fernandez-Trillo ([Email Address Removed]).
Funding Notes
This studentship is competition funded by the BBSRC MIBTP scheme: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/mibtp/index.aspx
Stipend: RCUK standard rate (plus additional travel allowance in year 1 and a laptop)
The Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership (MIBTP) is a BBSRC-funded doctoral training partnership between the universities of Warwick, Birmingham and Leicester. It delivers innovative, world-class research training across the Life Sciences to boost the growing Bioeconomy across the UK.
To check your eligibility to apply for this project please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mibtp/pgstudy/phd_opportunities/application/
Please contact [Email Address Removed] for details regarding funding and the application procedure.