PHD STUDENT POSITION IN NANOMATERIALS CHEMISTRY

The PhD student position will be placed at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Division of Applied Chemistry. The student will be part of the Graduate School of Environment and Health, a multi-disciplinary graduate school, which is funded by Gothenburg University, Chalmers University of Technology and the Västra Götaland Region and coordinated by the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV). The aim of the PhD project is to study how different substances adsorb on nanoparticles and how such adsorption will affect the particles? ability to penetrate different biological barriers within our body. Since it is known that nanoparticles may penetrate through barriers, such as cell membranes, the blood brain barrier and even the skin, it is very important to investigate weather harmful substances adsorbed on particles might get access to locations, which would otherwise be impossible to reach. Nanoparticles possess high surface energy and high curvature, as compared to larger particles and flat surfaces. Hence, studies need to be performed using nanoparticles directly, which is a scientific challenge. The project includes: - Synthesis of nanoparticles using wet chemical methods - Characterization of the nanoparticles using spectroscopy, scattering, diffraction and microscopy - The use of several analytical tools used for investigating adsorption - Studies on how the particles are penetrating through different biological barriers The employment is for 4 years and 3 months, whereof 5% is devoted to duties at the department, mainly teaching in the undergraduate or masters courses, distributed over the whole time of the position. The remaining time is for research activities within the PhD project including graduate courses. We welcome applicants who have a degree in chemistry, physics, biotechnology, materials science or other relevant areas. The knowledge of the Swedish language is desirable but not necessary, whereas a good level of spoken and written English is required.