Dr Honet Makamba

SKILLS

Analytical techniques. I have working knowledge of HPLC for separation of large and small molecules, capillary/microchip electrophoresis of proteins and smaller molecules, UV-vi-NIR absorption, UV-vis-NIR fluorescence of quantum dots and carbon nanotubes, IR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy of compounds and nanomaterials. PDMS materials for microfluidics.

Nanocomposite materials synthesis. I have performed synthesis of nanocomposites materials from organic polymers and nanostructures. Acrylic/carbon nanotube composites, acrylic/TiO2 nanoparticle composites and acrylic plasmonic nanoparticles composites. These composites can be used for protein concentration or molecular separations.

Surface modification for microfluidic biosensors. I have done surface modification of silicone materials, metallic materials and carbon nanomaterials. Surface modification of plastic or glassy silicone materials using molecular monolayers or polymer multilayers, then followed by proteins for microfluidic biosensors. Some of the surface modified plastic materials have been combined with hydrogels in microchips bioassays such as antibody-antigen interactions and estrogen-receptor interactions Surface modification of precious metal surfaces using alkanethiol chemistry. Surface modification of metal oxides using electron donor-acceptor interactions. I have also done sol-gel synthesis of silica materials, including silica composites. I am familiar with surface characterization techniques such as contact angle measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FT-IR, AFM and Raman spectroscopy.

Carbon nanomaterials, plasmonic and metal oxide nanomaterials for nanosensor development using fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy. I work with aqueous dispersions and solid samples of carbon nanotubes to study optical properties which are NIR fluorescence and Raman properties. I work on improving the fluorescence quantum yield of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for nanosensor and biosensor applications. I also work with TiO2 nanoparticles for optical nanosensor development. I have worked with aqueous dispersions of plasmonic nanoparticles and TiO2 nanoparticles, also for optical nanosensor development.

Polymer synthesis. I have worked for at least 3 years on polymer synthesis by redox polymerization or photopolymerization.

Biomolecular interactions using nanostructure optical properties and microfluidics. DNA- protein interactions. Protein-protein interactions and protein–ligand interactions, studied via nanostructure optical properties such as NIR fluorescence and surface plasmons absorption. Same interactions studied using microfluidics.

Supervision. I have supervised Master students and partially supervised Ph.D students during my fellowship in Taiwan. The Master students I supervised both published papers. Currently, I still help with some Ph.D students in their research on carbon nanotubes.

Research proposal writing. I have co-written and I continue to co-write research proposals with my supervisors as a postdoctoral fellow. Some of the research proposals I co-wrote when I was still working in Taiwan were funded, and some of the research is still going after I left.

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