Overview
This PhD explores the response of magnetic nanoparticles with tuneable structure to magnetic fields and how particle dynamics report on surrounding biological and mechanical environment. This project brings together a unique combination of nanocomposite design, physics-informed magnetic sensing, and access to the UK’s only Magnetic Particle Imaging scanner within a highly interdisciplinary chemistry–physics–biomedical programme.
About this opportunity
Magnetic nanoparticles underpin a rapidly growing class of biomedical technologies, from non-invasive medical imaging to advanced biomaterials for tissue engineering. This PhD project will develop next-generation magnetic nanoparticle systems whose structure and dynamics change in response to their biological environment, enabling new ways to image and measure functional properties inside complex, opaque materials.
The project sits at the interface of chemistry, physics, and biomedical engineering, combining nanoparticle and hydrogel design with advanced magnetic imaging and sensing. It will exploit the University of Liverpool’s globally unique Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) infrastructure, including the only MPI scanner in the UK, alongside newly developed magnetic particle rheology and detection technologies.
The central scientific idea is that the magnetic response of nanoparticles depends sensitively on their rotation, aggregation state, and local mechanical environment. By designing nanoparticles and nanocomposites that undergo controlled structural changes, such as clustering, polymer rearrangement, or matrix-driven restriction of motion, you will create systems whose magnetic signals directly report on biological triggers (e.g. pH, enzymes, binding events) or local material rheology.
Research objectives
You will work on an integrated programme that could include any of the following, however we are happy to tailor the project to student interests:
- Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles with controlled size (5–1000 nm), composition, and shape using co-precipitation and thermal decomposition methods.
- Surface functionalisation and polymer integration, including responsive polymer shells, amphiphilic copolymers, and gel matrices designed to alter nanoparticle dynamics in response to biological stimuli.
- Formation of functional nanocomposites, where changes in particle spacing, aggregation, or rotational freedom encode information about chemical or mechanical changes in the surrounding material.
- Magnetic characterisation and imaging, using AC susceptometry, magnetic particle rheology, and Magnetic Particle Imaging to extract information on nanoparticle motion, relaxation behaviour, and spatial distribution.
- Data analysis and modelling, including physics-based models and exploratory machine learning approaches to relate magnetic signals to particle structure and local material properties.
Applications span responsive imaging probes, soft biomaterials, and synthetic extracellular matrices, with relevance to tissue engineering, nanomedicine, and long-acting therapeutics.
Training and research environment
This PhD offers exceptionally broad and high-value training. The student will gain hands-on experience in:
- Nanoparticle and polymer synthesis
- Soft matter and biomaterials fabrication
- Advanced magnetic characterisation and imaging
- Interdisciplinary data analysis across chemistry and physics
The project is jointly supervised across Chemistry and Physics, with extensive access to the Centre for Preclinical Imaging, where the MPI system is housed. The student will work closely with researchers developing new magnetic detection technologies, as well as experts in biomaterials and soft-matter physics.
This interdisciplinary training will equip the student with a rare skill set at the interface of materials chemistry, applied physics, and biomedical technology, providing excellent preparation for careers in academia, industry, medical imaging, or advanced materials R&D.
Further reading
Strategies towards standardizing calibration methods for magnetic particle imaging (MPI) signal quantification: solution vs. cellular environments. Ureña Horno, E., Maguire, M. L., Ozkan, S., O’Brien, L., Murray, P., Poptani, H., and Giardiello, M. Nanoscale, 17, 24060-24071 (2025) doi.org/10.1039/D5NR03025K
Magnetic particle imaging: The need for standardized approaches. Poptani, H., O’Bried, L., and Giardiello, M. Matter, 7, 8, 2718 – 2720 (2024) doi.org/10.1016/j.matt.2024.05.049
Stable, polymer-directed and SPION-nucleated magnetic amphiphilic block copolymer nanoprecipitates with readily reversible assembly in magnetic fields. Giardiello, M., Hatton, F. L., Slater, R. A., Chambon, P., North, J., Peacock, A. K., He, T., McDonald, T. O., Owen, A., and Rannard, S. P. Nanoscale, 8, 7224-7231 (2016). doi.org/10.1039/C6NR00788K
Facile synthesis of complex multi-component organic and organic-magnetic inorganic nanocomposite particles. Giardiello, M., McDonald, T. O., Smith, D., Martin, P., Owen, A., and Rannard, S.P. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 22 (47), 24744 – 24752 (2012) doi.org/10.1039/C2JM34974D