Dr Yuri Diaz Fernandez
PhD, MRSC

BBSRC Senior Research Fellow, NBIC
Chemistry

Part of
School of Physical Sciences
Faculty of Science and Engineering

Contact

Yuri.Diaz-Fernandez@liverpool.ac.uk

Google Scholar Profile

Research

SEM false-colour image of Pseudomonas Fluorescence attachment at a surface. Scale bar is 100nm (unpublished results).

Electron Microscopy at bio-interfaces

One of the research lines in our group is focused on the development of high resolution imaging methods able to provided morphological information of biological processes at surfaces. Electron Microscopy provides excellent tools for studying the interaction of live systems with functional surfaces, reaching ultimate spatial resolution at the nanometre scale. We have recently developed robust methods to capture the morphology of delicate biological structures at surfaces, using Scanning Electron Microscopy. This project is being developed in collaboration with UoL EM Biomedical Unit.

TEM of self-assembled hybrid structure of gold nanostar surrounded by iron oxide nanoparticles. Scale bar is 5nm [Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 21088-21098; DOI: 10.1039/C5DT02812D].

Synthesis and self-assembly of nanomaterials

Controlling the structure of materials at the nanoscale is one of the major challenges in modern science. We are working on the development of new nanomaterials with well-defined crystallographic surface properties that can be used as model systems for studying catalytic process involved energy applications and for the development of bioactive surfaces. We are also working on the development of self-assembly processes to create multifunctional surfaces. In our group we have a set of complementary analytical techniques able to provide accurate chemical and structural characterisation from single atoms and single molecules, to complex self-assembled structures. Within this project we are collaborating intensively with UoL SIRE and inLAB from Pavia (Italy).

AFM topographic image superimposed with local-adhesion mapping on a self-assembled nanostructured surface (light-yellow zones display high adhesion, while brown-dark areas low adhesion). The imaged square is 175nm x 175nm in plane, while height axis is 30nm (unpublished results).

Advanced Scanning Probe Microscopy Techniques

Recent developments on Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) instrumentation have improved considerably the versatility of the instruments. In our group we are exploiting cutting-edge techniques to study the behaviour of bacterial cells at functional interfaces. For this research project, we are particularly interested on fluid-SPM methods able to investigate live cells in their natural media. Additionally, we are using ambient and UHV SPM techniques to characterise nanostructured surfaces with tailored functionalities and bi-dimensional anisotropies. For this project we are collaborating with inLAB from Pavia (Italy).