Block-like substituted polysaccharide ethers shall be prepared by using various approaches: cationic ring opening polymerization (CROP) of macromonomers, transglycosylation, or polymer analog reaction using functionalized nanostructures for activation of distinct domains in the biopolymer strand. Products will be analyzed with respect to average block length by quantitative ESI-MS after appropriate sample preparation. Blocklike modification of polysaccharides is an interesting type of patterning, since the chemistry of domains determines chain-chain interactions, e.g. in gelation processes.

Description

In the Braunschweig International Graduate School of Metrology (B-IGSM) PhD positions in the field of Measurement Science, Instrumentation and Metrology are available.

The Braunschweig IGSM supports the joint PhD program of TU Braunschweig and the German National Metrology Institute Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). All applications are required to be processed by the web-based application system on the website http://igsm.tu-bs.de/application/online_application
Precondition for enrolment is the approval by the International Office of TU Braunschweig according to the Promotionsordnung (PhD Regulations) of the respective faculty.

For our DFG Research Training Group “Metrology for Complex Nanosystems (NanoMet)” we offer the following PhD positions starting on 1 October 2014:

Doctoral position available for 3 years (E13, 75%).

Block-like substituted polysaccharide ethers shall be prepared by using various approaches: cationic ring opening polymerization (CROP) of macromonomers, transglycosylation, or polymer analog reaction using functionalized nanostructures for activation of distinct domains in the biopolymer strand. Products will be analyzed with respect to average block length by quantitative ESI-MS after appropriate sample preparation. Blocklike modification of polysaccharides is an interesting type of patterning, since the chemistry of domains determines chain-chain interactions, e.g. in gelation processes.

Requirements:
- Degree in chemistry or a related topic with excellent results.
- Interest and at least basic knowledge in carbohydrate and polymer chemistry, in mass spectrometry and quantitative analysis.
- Since NanoMet is an interdisciplinary graduate school focused on nanometrology, interest
in physics and metrological aspects are essential.

Contact: p.mischnick@tu-bs.de