Inder Kaur
Address:
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK
Research Interests:
- Understanding the surface chemistry at nanoscale,
- development of nanomaterial libraries with variable properties which can be tailored to specific applications,
- characterization using sophisticated spectroscopic and microscopic techniques,
- behavioral difference between nanoparticles and metal ions,
- understanding the nano-bio (eco) interactions through the corona formation,
- quantification and life cycle assessment of nanomaterials in both biological tissues and environmental samples.
Biography:
- Dr Inder Kaur undertook her PhD in a NERC funded project at the University of Birmingham on understanding the surface chemistry of cerium oxide nanoparticles and their uptake and internalisation in human lung epithelial cells (A549). In this work, she developed a library of ceria nanoparticles with a range of functionalities (some of them mimicked in shape and size to as found in the air through diesel exhaust) and quantified their oxidation states using STEM-EELS, XPS and XAS.
- She also carried out some work at University of South Carolina, USA, as a visiting researcher during her PhD studentship which gave her substantial international research experience.
- Dr Kaur started her current position as a postdoctoral research fellow in environmental nanoscience on a NERC funded project in March 2015 and is working towards the development of isotopically labelled and biologically compatible silver nanoparticles with different functionalities for various biomedical and environmental applications. In particular, the focus is to provide a robust protective surface coating to the nanoparticles in order to inhibit the dissolution process in aquatic Zebrafish media. The nanopaticles are fed to Zebrafish and quantified for their multi-generational bioaccumulation using stable isotope tracers in collaborative work within the project.