July 2024
Exciting News: Our Research Group is going to the Advanced NanoMaterials 2024 Conference!
We are thrilled to announce that our entire research group will be attending the Advanced NanoMaterials 2024 conference in Aveiro, Portugal. This event is a fantastic opportunity for us to share our latest findings, engage with leading experts, and explore new frontiers in nanomaterials.
A special highlight of the conference will be the keynote talk delivered by Dr. Miao Zhao, who will be presenting on the crucial role of F127 as a coating copolymer for conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs) in photodynamic therapy (PDT) applications — a great honour and recognition of Miao's significant contributions to the field.
Additionally, our principal investigator (Sasha) will be giving an talk on the group's pioneering research into CPNs for theranostic applications, showcasing the innovative strides we are making in this area.
Our talented PhD students will also be contributing to the conference with poster presentations. Anton Uzunoff will present his work on mixed-composition CPNs for PDT applications, while Ancin M. Devis will share her research on DEP-driven assembly of nanomaterials. These presentations highlight the diverse and cutting-edge research conducted within our group.
We are eager to engage with the scientific community at Advanced NanoMaterials 2024 and look forward to the stimulating discussions and collaborations that will arise from this esteemed gathering.
Stay tuned for updates and insights from the conference!
Our paper on using QDs as scintillators is accepted!
Our collaboration with Dr. Teppei Katori on the development of water-based scintillators using semiconductor quantum dots has finally come to fruition. Read all about our work on the IOP website.
June 2024
Best poster prize at Plasmonics Forum 2024!
Congratualtions to Daria Panova on winning the best poster prize at the London Plasmonic Forum 2024! At the Forum, Daria presented a poster on her PhD project, which focuses on the development of hybrid plasmonic/conjugated polymer nanoparticles for photocatalytic applications. Daria is funded by the CPLAS programme grant (EPSRC), which you can learn more about here.
May 2024
International Day of Light 2024 celebrations
On May 16, 2024, the Physics Department of King's College London celebrated the International Day of Light with the "Transcending Invisible" project - a unique collaboration between scientists and artists. This event featured engaging talks and exhibits that highlighted the multifaceted nature of light, from cutting-edge photonics research to immersive light installations. The initiative underscores the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in exploring and appreciating the complexities of light. For more information about the project and future events, visit Transcending The Invisible website.
March 2024
Sasha to give a seminar in Trinity College Dublin
Sasha will be visiting her
February 2024
Anton transfers to PhD roster!
Congratulations to Anton Uzunoff for passing his upgrade viva. We wish him the best of luck in the rest of his PhD!
December 2023
First PhD graduations of the group!
Congratulations to Miao Zhao and Steve Po, the first PhD graduates from the research group. Miao's thesis "Development of Theranostic Probes Using Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles for Application in Cancer Treatment" and Steve's thesis, "Light-Matter Interactions of Metallic-Semiconductor Nanostructures" represent ground-breaking research in their respective fields. Their hard-work and dedication have set a high standard for future students in the group. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and look forward to their continued success!
October 2023
Sasha visits Turku University
Sasha is due to visit Prof. Konstantinos Daskalakis in the Materials Engineering department of University of Turku, where she will give a seminar on "Active and passive control of nanomaterials for photonic and biosensing applications".
We welcome this year's Master students
The warmest of welcomes to Einaras Juodelis and Yannick Matthews, who will be conducting investigations on time-resolved fluoresecnce. Good luck to them both!
New PhD students joining the group
We welcome Daria Panova and Xiaoyi Zhang to the group. Daria will be working on developing hybrid conjugated polymer /plasmonic nanoparticles for water remediation applications. Xiaoyi, who is a joint KCSC student between departments of pharmacology and physics, will be developing green synthesis methods to develop nanoparticle-based drugs and later investigate the effects of micro-gravity on their properties. We wish both of them the greatest of successes!
July 2023
A double successful viva defence!
The biggest of congratulations to Steve Po and Marciano Palma do Carmo, who have both successfully defended their thesises! Best of wishes to them in their future careers. Congratulations doctors!
May 2023
We are starting a project with artists!
Many thanks to the Royal Society for funding the Public Engagement project, aimed at establishing collaborations between scientists and artists to develop works of art on the topic of photonics. The call for applications will be announced in August 2023. You can find more details here.
Review paper published.
Our review paper on conjugated polymer nanoparticles has been accepted for publication in a special issue of Nanomedicine journal. You can read all about it here.
April 2023
Steve submits his thesis!
Massive congratulations to Steve Po, who has submitted his PhD dissertation on "Light-Matter Interactions of Metallic-Semiconductor Nanostructures". We wish him best of luck in his defence.
January 2023
We welcome project students
This year, we have two Bachelor students and three Master students joining our group. Riccardo Becagli and Chakhung Wong will work on conjugated polymer nanoparticles, trying to understand what effect the stabilizing shell has on the production of reactive oxygen species by the conjugated polymer core. Zhara Kunchu Mohamed, Vasily Solodyankin will explore the possibility of using arrays of metallic nanocones for dielectrophoresis-driven assembly of colloidal nanoparticles. Xinyu Li, on the other hand, will build and test a set-up for convective assembly of colloidal nanomaterials. We wish them all best of luck in their respective projects.
December 2022
First successful viva defence
Congratulations to Miao Zhao, who has successfully defended her viva and can now relax and enjoy her holidays. We will welcome her back in January as a Research Assistant/Associate.
September 2022
First thesis of the group submitted!
Big congratulations to Miao Zhao, who has submitted her thesis on the development of theranostic probes based on conjugated polymer nanoparticles. Whilst she waits for her viva, Miao has continued working in the group as a Research Assistant/Associate. Best of luck in your viva, Miao!
Our group is growing!
We welcome Anton Uzunoff, who is joining our group in October to undertake his PhD studies. Anton will be investigating the photophysics of conjugated polymer nanoparticles and their ratiometric design.
Sasha visits Centro Atomico de Bariloche
A long-overdue visit to Bariloche, as part of collaboration with Laura Pedano and Alex Feinstein, sponsored by the Royal Society International Exchanges grant. During the visit, Sasha will give a departmental seminar and and a plenary talk at the RAFA 107 meeting.
April 2022
First in-person conference in years!
The group was very keen to attend Nanophotonics IX conference, as part of SPIE Photonics Europe 2022. For Miao, Marciano and Steve, this was the first in-person conference where they presented their research and they coped with it brilliantly! Overall, we all enjoyed a week-long immersion into uninterrupted science!
January 2022
Opportunity to join the group
Interested in joining the group? We have a funded PhD position available! The project aims to develop theranostic probes based on conjugated polymer nanoparticles. Further details can be found on the findaphd.com website.
We are always looking for talented people to join our efforts. If you are interested in applying for a fellowship with us, do get in touch!
October 2021
New PhD student
We welcome Ancin Maria Devis to the group! Ancin will be working on developing low-cost and large-scale fabrication methods for production of hierarchial nanostructures.
May 2021
Our NuSec Summer Pilot Project application was successful!
Together with Dr. Teppei Katori, we are now looking for an undergraduate student to do a summer internship on "Developing Multifunctional Quantum Dot-based Neutrino Fission Reactor Detector". Any KCL students are welcome to apply! Just email one of us to express interest.
New publication: CPNs light the way to theranostics!
PTB7 conjugated polymer is known to be degraded by singlet oxygen that it itself photosensitizes. Why not use it for Photodynamic Therapy we thought? Big congratulations to Miao on her first publication as a first author!
See more here.
April 2021
Summer internship awaded!
Big congratulations to América Estefanía Mendoza Razcón from UNAM in Mexico, who won a prestigious UNAM-DGECI scholarship to fund her visit our lab this summer. We are looking forward to welcoming you in Physics@KCL, America!
Royal Society fellowship renewal awarded!
Big thank you to the Royal Society for deciding to sponsor me for a further three years! Can't wait to start working on "Bioinspired theranostic probes based on conjugated polymer nanoparticles".
A broken laser :/
The temperature controller on our 640nm pulsed laser diode has broken. How annoying! The little guy is now on its way to Germany to be fixed. Fingers crossed all goes well.
January 2021
A PhD position available
We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work on the development of Highly Ordered Nanophotonic Systems. Details can be found on FindAPhD website.
Welcome BSc Project in Physics students!
A warm welcome to Huan Zhang and Tingyu Zhu, who are joining us for their BSc Project in Physics. No experiments, I am afraid, but I hope you enjoy your project on designing an SPR sensor for detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, found in COVID-19 virus, using finite-difference time-domain simulations.
December 2020
New publication: gold nanoparticles get organized!
Assembly of colloidal nanomaterials into regular arrays on any substrate has been an Achilles heel in their integration into functional devices. After all, how do you order something that is too small to see? By making use of capillary and mechanical forces, that is how! Read about the technique here.
November 2020
Virtual conferencing goes ahead!
Congratulations to Steve, Marciano and Miao who all did an excellent job at presenting their research at the ICLO2020 international conference.