Chemistry/Chemistry (Professional Practice) - MSc

• Organic Synthesis and Characterisation of Biologically Active Compounds (20 cp) - Develop knowledge in the synthesis of relatively complex organic molecules. Topics include: retrosynthetic analysis and total synthesis of biologically important molecules; the controlled formation of C-C bonds and functional group transformations; and structure elucidation of complex molecules
• Physical Properties of Solid-state and Nano-composite Materials (20 cp) - This module covers the fields of solid-state and nanocomposite materials chemistry. You’ll understand the functional roles, characteristics and synthesis of nanocomposites and inorganic materials.
• Inorganic Chemistry Beyond the Molecule (20 cp) - Understand the use of the biomimetic and supramolecular approaches in materials chemistry. You’ll learn the importance of interfaces in structure regulation and recognition in the generation of new materials including the recognition and incorporation of materials into the human body.
• Research Methods and Independent Study (20 cp) - This module provides an underpinning in research skills relevant to the independent study. You will be introduced to the techniques required to formulate a research project and to carry out a literature review. You will be given practice in the use of the library and learning resources including relevant IT packages.
• Research Project (60 cp) - You will work on laboratory-based research and will evaluate and review the scientific literature relevant to the topic. Design and conduct experimental work, and present the findings in the form of a presentation, poster and a written thesis. Examples of project titles can be found below.

Choose two modules to make up the 40 credit points to make up the MSc. Appropriate 20 credit point Master-level modules from across the School of Science and Technology may be considered to make up the 180 credit points required at Masters-level. Examples of possible option choices include:

• Chemotherapeutics (20 cp) - This module covers drug action and synthesis including the underlying methodology applied to the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Areas include: cancer therapies, antibacterial agents and synthetic methodology.
• Drug Detection, Analysis and Screening (20 cp) - Study analysis methods including IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques, GC / HPLC, related hyphenated techniques, and immunoassays. Other areas include spectroscopy, chromatography, multivariate data processing, biophysics and related disciplines to the analytical chemistry of drugs and drug containing materials.
• Clinical Chemistry (20 cp) - By distance learning and on-campus workshops, you'll study a variety of disorders. You'll cover clinical symptoms and biochemical / molecular defects, as well as diagnosis and treatment. Understanding the fundamental role of biochemical analysis in the achievement both of clinal diagnosis and disease management is central to this module.
• Pharmacology (20 cp) - In this module, you'll see how genes can influence our physiology, and hence our pharmacological response to drugs used to treat pathological conditions. You'll develop the concept of tailoring therapeutic drugs as the future of drug design, enabling physicians to prescribe personalised medical treatments based on an individual's genome.

Example of project titles

• Hydrogen storage
• Supramolecular materials
• Liquid crystals
• Organic superconductors
• Drug delivery devices
• MRI contrast agents
• Metal phosphonates
• Ionic liquids as solvents for materials synthesis
• Layered metal halide perovskites
• Peptide-mineral interactions
• Biomineralisation
• Super-hydrophobic / hydrophilic surfaces
• Carbohydrate Chemistry
• Asymmetric Synthesis of P-Chirogenic Phosphines
• Small Molecule Approaches to the Elucidation of Protein Function
• Multiplexing, Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging
• Fluorescence Microscopy