MSc by Research (Chemistry)

Tapas Sen

The lack of clean water has always been an issue of environmental concern all over the world. The main sources of water pollution are (i) industrial (chemical, organic, thermal and nuclear wastes), (ii) municipal (largely sewage consisting of human wastes, other organic wastes, and detergents), and (iii) agricultural (animal wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers).

The proposed project involves collection of water from Preston Dock, detection of toxic chemicals and biochemicals by analytical tools followed by separation using surface functionalised magnetic nanoparticles with the influence of an external magnetic field.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Dr. Mark Holden

Ice nucleation is an important process, not least in the atmosphere, where cloud properties are greatly altered when liquid water freezes. Ice nucleation in some clouds can be triggered by small particles that act as nucleants. Understanding how these particles promote nucleation is of great importance in atmospheric sciences and in other applications such as cryopreservation. However, this is a difficult challenge because nucleation only occurs in regions that make up a tiny fraction of the particles total surface area, known as active sites.

In this project, you will investigate ice nucleation at active sites on well-characterised surfaces. This laboratory-based study will use chemical alteration and other experiments to determine what makes these active sites so effective at nucleating ice. This project will use a variety of techniques, including high-speed cryomicroscopy (shown in the image below) and state-of-the art scanning probe microscopy. This is a fundamental project that sits at the interface of chemistry, physics, and atmospheric science.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Dr. Mark Holden

Ice I crystals have two polytypes; hexagonal (Ih) and cubic (Ic). Examples of hexagonal ice are common, such as in the image below of an ice crystal growing in a supercooled liquid water droplet. However, most previous reports of cubic ice have been found to be stacking disordered (Isd). This means that there are a mixture of hexagonal and cubic sequences in the structure, rather than cubic only. Whether ice is hexagonal, cubic or a mixture of both will determine several properties including crystal shape and light scattering, and hence affect their behaviour, so understanding and this phenomenon is of importance in many fields.

In this project you will investigate stacking disorder in ice crystals, as well as other systems where stacking disorder is observed such as silver iodide. This laboratory-based study will use a variety of techniques including state-of-the art microscopy to understand and potentially control the extent of stacking disorder within the crystals. This is a fundamental project that can have impact in a number of areas such as atmospheric science (understanding our planet’s coldest clouds) and cryopreservation.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Dr Jioji N. Tabudravu

Aim: isolate and characterise new potential Alzheimer’s drugs from Preston Marina. You'll use modern spectroscopy and advanced 1D/2D NMR and HRMS/MS techniques.

Culture samples from Preston Marina and select pure strains for further investigation.

Analyse the bioactive extracts with LC-HR-MS/MS and a Molecular Networking Algorithm. So you can prioritise compounds for further investigation with HPLC, NMR, HRMS/MS.

Methodology

Finding new drugs to alleviate dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease is a challenging task. The number of individuals that suffer from these diseases and economic costs in the modern world is staggering. Alzheimer’s disease is responsible for 60-70% of all dementia cases with a total cost of dementia worldwide estimated to be £380 billion per year.

Nature is a proven source of pharmaceutical drugs. Representing about 75% of current small molecule antibacterial agents. and about 78% of current anticancer drugs. This project will apply the combination of strain selection and bioassay. In conjunction with software-database-integrated dereplication tools, maximising the discovery of new bioactive molecules.

References

1. Chervin, J. et al. Targeted Dereplication of Microbial Natural Products by High-Resolution MS and Predicted LC Retention Time. J. Nat. Prod. 80, 1370–1377 (2017).

2. Yang, J. Y. et al. Molecular Networking as a Dereplication Strategy. J. Nat. Prod. 76, 1686–1699 (2013).

3. ACD/Labs.com :: Your Partner in Chemistry Software for Analytical and Chemical Knowledge Management, Chemical Nomenclature, and In-Silico PhysChem and ADME-Tox. http://www.acdlabs.com/

Next steps

 To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Prof. Sub Reddy

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) are an exciting class of synthetic receptor. They have been coined a replacement to antibodies and can be produced within hours, using low-cost monomers and using a simple one-pot synthesis. MIPs are designed to possess cavities selective for capturing a target biological such as a protein, virus or cell. MIPs hold the key to the development of novel rapid diagnostics and therapeutics, with impact within the healthcare industries.

Molecular Imprinting

You will investigate and characterise such MIPs using state-of-the-art electrochemical techniques, spectroscopies and microscopies including atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This is a multi-disciplinary project at the interface between Chemistry and Biology with relevance to health, diagnostic biosensors, electronics, materials science, and more.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Dr Jioji N. Tabudravu

Synthetic cannabinoids are the fastest-growing recreational drugs in the world today. These compounds are known to produce psychotropic effects that mimic those of cannabis. The severity of adverse effects are much greater including:

Hypertension, agitation, elevated heart rate, hallucinations, seizures, and panic attacks.

Detection of these compounds is challenging due to constant production of new analogues of the banned compounds. This creates constant moving targets for toxicological analysts.

This project will involve creating a small library containing:

Parent and fragment structures, molecular formula, and masses m/z) using the ACDLabs Spectrus platform.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please contact the project supervisor.

Dr Sergey Zlatogorsky

Alternative energy vectors are the key to our future. Hydrogen energetics is one of the current favourites, however sustainable hydrogen production and storage are the main unresolved problems so far. The proposed research project will target the development of Iron-N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (Fe-NHCs) for reversible hydrogen storage.

You will perform chemical synthesis under controlled atmosphere, using both Schlenk line and inert atmosphere glovebox techniques. Analysis of compounds will be mainly performed by NMR, IR, UV-VIS, CHN and single crystal XRD. Full training will be provided.

Next steps

To find out the next steps or apply for this course, please email the project supervisor.

Chandrashekhar Vishwanath Kulkarni

Liposomes and planar lipid bilayers are increasingly used as model membranes. However, there are more elegant lipid nanostructures that can be used to mimic complex biomembrane architectures. Lamellar (1-D), hexagonal (2-D) and cubic (3-D) phases are being explored for a few of such applications. These phases are highly organized nanostructures formed via self-assembling of lipid molecules in aqueous medium.

The project involves studying interactions of various essential biomolecules with aforementioned model membranes. The project, being interdisciplinary, will provide training in nanoscale characterization engaging various biophysical, chemical and structural analysis techniques. As a part of this project you may get a chance to travel to national/international laboratory.

You will be a part of the ‘Lipid Nanostructures Laboratory’ whose research is mainly focused on nanostructured self-assemblies of lipids, but it also extends towards the study of other amphiphilic molecules including surfactants and membrane proteins. Some of the forefront projects include model biomembranes, lipid nanoscaffolds, biomolecular interactions with lipid nanostructures, designing and fine tuning of lipid nanostructures, and exploring their novel applications for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations.

Chandrashekhar Vishwanath Kulkarni

Lipid molecules self-assemble into elegant nanostructures in presence of water. They are widely used in various nano- and bio-technological applications. However, some of these nanostructures are highly viscous and inconsistent at micro-domain level. Their applicability can be enhanced by dispersing them into nanostructured particles. These colloidal emulsions often require appropriate stabilizers such as surfactants or functionalized solid particles. Recently we have successfully employed carbon nanotubes for this purpose.

With this project, we would like to explore some novel stabilizers and employ them to fine-tune properties of lipid nanostructured emulsions. We also plan to design and synthesize similar molecules together with our international collaborators. The project, being interdisciplinary, will provide training in nanoscale characterization engaging various chemical and structural analysis techniques. As a part of this project, you may get a chance to travel to national/international laboratory.

You will be a part of the ‘Lipid Nanostructures Laboratory’ whose research is mainly focused on nanostructured self-assemblies of lipids, but it also extends towards the study of other amphiphilic molecules including surfactants and membrane proteins. Some of the forefront projects include model biomembranes, lipid nanoscaffolds, biomolecular interactions with lipid nanostructures, designing and fine tuning of lipid nanostructures, and exploring their novel applications for pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations.