Division Inorganic Trace Analysis is currently seeking a student (w/m/d) for a master thesis "Development of a Capillary electrophoresis ICP-MS method for isotope ratio measurement of Sulfur in proteins"
Background
Sulfur is present in all proteins, in peptides and several other important biomolecules. Species-specific isotopic analysis of sulfur could offer detailed understanding of (bio)chemical and physiological processes. Therefore, efficient separation techniques coupled with reliable detection is required to measure slight variations in isotope ratio values in complex biological samples. Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) coupled with ICP-MS is powerful tool to meet this requirement. Hyphenating CE with MC-ICP-MS, one is faced with several challenges: (1) amplifier time lag correction, (2) calculation of isotope ratios from short transient signals/peaks, (3) correction of instrumental mass bias, (4) calculation of δ-values. The study focuses on finding solutions to these challenges.
Your tasks
The aim of the master thesis project is to develop a CE/ICP-MS method for isotope ratio measurement of Sulfur in proteins. During the development, sample preparation procedure will be developed for proteins, CE parameters will be tested and optimized, along with optimization of ICP-MS measurement. Data treatment strategy will be developed to calculate Isotope ratio and Delta values corresponding to Sulfur.
Qualifications
- Studies of chemistry or related subjects
- Fluent English
- Experiences in the field of analytical chemistry, and knowledge of Capillary electrophoresis and ICP-MS are advantageous
- Interest in method development and optimization for isotopic analysis
Contact
Dariya Tukhmetova
Division Inorganic Trace Analysis
phone: 030 8104-4108
email: dariya.tukhmetova@bam.de
Dr. Björn Meermann
Division Inorganic Trace Analysis
phone: 030-8104-1110
email: bjoern.meermann@bam.de