Dr Agnieszka Rutkowska

Solid-state nanopores for enhanced protein and peptide detection

I work at the interface of nanotechnology and electrochemistry. My current project, performed in collaboration with Dr. Tim Albrecht and funded by The Leverhulme Trust, is focused on the development of solid-state nanopores for enhanced protein and peptide detection using both electronic and electrochemical methodologies. I specialise in the growth of nanostructures, electrochemical deposition of nanoparticles, and fabrication of  nano-scale electrodes. My main point of interest is the development of nanoelectrodes for single molecule detection and mechanistic studies of physical and chemical interactions at the nano-scale.

I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Warwick in 2010. The studies concentrated on the fabrication of carbon nanotube devices as nano-scale electrodes and optically transparent electrodes. The project was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Julie Macpherson and Prof. Patrick Unwin, and was funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). 

My interest in nanotechnology began during my undergraduate studies at Warsaw University, Poland. In my final year project I studied the nucleation and growth of one-dimensional nanostructures of silicon carbide, supervised by Prof. Andrzej Huczko. At the same time I undertook an internship at the Institute of Technology of Electronic Materials, in a project on the fabrication of silicon carbide monocrystals.

I am a co-author of a number of publications and have presented my work at national and international conferences. 

Selected publications:

•  A. Rutkowska, T.M. Bawazeer, J.V. Macpherson, P.R. Unwin, Visualisation of electrochemical processes at optically transparent carbon nanotube ultramicroelectrodes (OT-CNT-UMEs), Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2011, ASAP.
• T.M. Bawazeer, A. Rutkowska, J.V. Macpherson and P.R. Unwin, Fluorescence Measurements at Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) electrode using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), Proc. 4th Saudi International Conference, Manchester, UK, 2010 (Gold paper award in applied science)
• A. Rutkowska, D. Walker, S. Gorfman, P.A. Thomas, J.V. Macpherson, Horizontal Alignment of Chemical Vapor-Deposited SWNTs on Single-Crystal Quartz Surfaces: Further Evidence for Epitaxial Alignment, J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009, 113, 17087-17096.
• A. Huczko, M. Osica, A. Rutkowska, M. Bystrzejewski, H. Lange, S. Cudzilo, A self-assembly SHS approach to form silicon carbide nanofibres, J. Phys. Condens. Matter. 2007, 19, 395032.
• A. Huczko, M. Bystrzejewski, H. Lange, A. Fabianowska, S. Cudzilo, A. Panas, M. Szala,Combustion synthesis as a novel method for production of 1-D SiC nanostructures, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2005, 109, 16244.

Conferences:

• Summer school "Biosensing with channels" France 2010
• Workshop on nanopores, London 2011
• Zing Conference on Nanopores, Spain 2012