Development of Integrated Microsystems for Low-Cost Chemical Analysis

This interdisciplinary PhD studentship will position the candidate between the Schools of Engineering and Chemistry at The University of Edinburgh. The successful applicant will apply novel techniques, which we’ve recently developed in three dimensional soft lithography to develop highly integrated and low-cost tools for chemical and biochemical analysis.

These microscale tools will utilise principles in microfluidics and electronics to miniaturise and automate sample-handling processes. These will be hyphenated to a range of analytical techniques; including – absorbance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy.

The ideal candidate should have a good background in biochemistry and understand enzyme and reaction kinetics, stop-flow techniques, calorimetry, spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and microfluidics. Candidates must also possess a working knowledge of at least one high-level programming language and be familiar with microcontrollers and designing simple analog and digital electronic systems.

The applicant must have a good undergraduate degree, and preferably an MSc or equivalent, in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Materials Science, Physics, or Engineering. Experience in undertaking experimental work; and an ability to communicate with, and work effectively alongside, researchers from a wide range of backgrounds will be necessary.

References:
Manufacturing of microcirculation phantoms using rapid prototyping technologies
IEEE EMBC’15
Anthony Buchoux, Prashant Valluri, Stewart Smith, Adam A. Stokes, Peter Hoskins, Vassilis Sboros

Camouflage and Display for Soft Machines.
Science
Stephen A. Morin, Robert F. Shepherd, Sen Wai Kwok, Adam A. Stokes, Alex Nemiroski, and George M. Whitesides

Online Quench-Flow Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry for Elucidating Kinetic and Chemical Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms.
Analytical Chemistry 2010
David J. Clarke, Adam A. Stokes, Pat Langridge-Smith and C. Logan Mackay