PhD in Nanotechnology and Nanostructured Materials for Biomedical Applications (last intake in 2013)

The PhD in Nanotechnology and Nanostructured Materials for Biomedical Applications is connected to the Graduate School in Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and is aimed to form experts in the planning, development, improvement and application of Nanotechnology and nanostructured materials to biomedical issues. To guarantee the achievement of these targets, the PhD students will be involved in several experimental research activities, such as preparation of nanostructured materials and its optimization, the measurements of their chemical and physical properties and their application to biomedical topics. A notable skill in the collection of experimental data and their elaboration will be gained during the PhD program. Many measurement techniques will be used, as scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), optical spectroscopy (absorption and emission), vibrational microspectroscopy (Raman and infrared), monodimensional and bidimensional proteomic, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), mutation/polymorphism screening, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, DNA sequencing and microarray. Through a proper training using such techniques, the PhD student will be able to directly perform experiments, collect and elaborate the experimental data and write out scientific reports and publications to be submitted to international journals. At the end of the program, the Philosophy Doctors will gain all the needed competences and skills in different scientific fields such as chemistry, physics, biology and medicine. The Doctors will have the ability to plan and carry out autonomously a research activity in the field of Nanotechnology and nanomaterials for biomedical applications. Research fields: - synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of nanostructured materials and multimodal contrast agents - preparation of nanocrystalline thin films - investigation on the structural and vibrational properties of functionalized nanostructured materials - superficial nanoengineering - cellular nanoengineering - functional analysis of biological interfaces - tracers production - development of biosensors for cellular activation - cell targeting