PhD Student in Analytical Microsystems

Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands)

Job Description

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a powerful separation technique in analytical chemistry. The separation principle is based on the phenomena that ionized molecules of different mass and charge will travel with different velocities through a capillary under the influence of an electric field. So when a small sample plug is injected at one end of a capillary the molecules are separated in different zones that can be detected with optical or electrical detectors at the other end. Although CE is widely used in laboratory situations for off-line measurements for more than 30 years, it has still not found its way to in-line applications in industrial processes, not even after the recent developments of CE microchips. The major barriers to be overcome for CE microsystem integration are: fluidic interfacing between process and CE microchip, sample pretreatment (filtering, enrichment, fluorescence labelling etc.) and the high separation voltages required (1500-3000 V).

This project will focus on the development of a CE-Microsystem for industrial application in which a CE microchip is integrated together with the electronics required for sampling, separation and conductivity detection. The project involves microfluidic and electronic design, finite element analysis of electro-osmotic driven flows, system integration and experiments. This multi-disciplinary project will be carried out in collaboration with industry and the Analytical Chemistry group of the university.

Requirements

Candidates should have a Master’s or equivalent degree in Micro-electronics, Physics or Fluid-Dynamics from an internationally recognized University. Usually only top 5%-10% graduates are considered for PhD positions. Candidates should have good communication skills and good command of the English language.

Additional Information

For further information about the position you can contact the project leader, dr. A. Bossche, phone +31-(0)15-2786049, e-mail: a.bossche@ewi.tudelft.nl

Applications

Applications with CV and Diploma can be send to:

Dr. A. Bossche,

Electronic Instrumentation Laboratory,

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS)

Mekelweg 4, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands

E-mail: a.bossche@ewi.tudelft.nl