PhD: Nanozyme Coatings for Antimicrobial Implants

Empa; Sankt Gallen; On-site; CHF 48,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PhD project (3 years)

Supervision by Dr. Giacomo Reina

Affiliation to ETH Zürich

Job summary

Empa in St. Gallen invites applications for a 3-year PhD project in the Nanomaterials in Health Lab to develop nanozyme coatings for medical implants and study their interactions with biological systems.

The candidate will join an international training network with joint affiliation to ETH Zürich (D-HEST). The position requires a Master’s degree in biomaterials, chemistry, nanotechnology, or biomedical engineering and strong experience in nanomaterials. Fluency in English is essential.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in biomaterials, chemistry, nanotechnology, or biomedical engineering.
• Experience in nanomaterial synthesis and characterization.
• Familiarity with cell culture and in vitro assays.
• Experience in catalysis, programming and large data analysis is a plus.
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English (written and oral).

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesize nanozymes: Develop nanozymes, and optimize their physicochemical and catalytic properties.
• Develop functional implant coatings: Establish reproducible strategies for integrating nanozymes onto implant surfaces and investigate their compatibility with different implant architectures and surface modifications.
• Evaluate antimicrobial activity: Investigate the ability of nanozyme-coated surfaces to inhibit bacterial growth and biofilm formation while reducing reliance on conventional antibiotics.
• Investigate nano–bio interactions: Study cellular responses to nanozyme-coated implants, including cytocompatibility, macrophage activation, cytokine production and parameters related to osteointe‑gration.
• Study stability, ageing and biodegradation: Investigate the transformation of low-dimensional nanozyme coatings in biologically relevant fluids.

Skills

Nanomaterial synthesis

Cell culture

In vitro assays

Programming & data analysis

Fluent English

Education

Master’s degree in biomaterials, chemistry, nanotechnology, or biomedical engineering

Job description

Empa in St. Gallen invites applications for a 3-year PhD project in the Nanomaterials in Health Lab to develop nanozyme coatings for medical implants and study their interactions with biological systems.

The candidate will join an international training network with joint affiliation to ETH Zürich (D-HEST). The position requires a Master’s degree in biomaterials, chemistry, nanotechnology, or biomedical engineering and strong experience in nanomaterials. Fluency in English is essential.