Universtiy of Strathclyde

  Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry

  Thomas Graham Building

  Phone: +44(0) 141 548 2615

Fax: +44(0) 141 552 0876

  E-mail: w.e.smith@strath.ac.uk

 Professor Smith is currently Deputy Head of Department, having previously been Head of Department for four years.

He has built up a multi-line Raman scattering facility which uses a combination of microscopes, mapping stages and flow cells to enable the use of Raman scattering to solve chemical and analytical problems. He is particularly interested in making surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) into a major analytical technique. In this method, a dye or derivatised analyte is adsorbed on a suitable roughened surface such as a silver or gold nanoparticle. The huge enhancement in scattering intensity obtained enables single molecule detection or the detection of ultratrace amounts of material such as explosives, drugs or bioanalytes including DNA and heme enzymes. The work is greatly strengthened by collaboration with Dr Duncan Graham who is expert in preparative chemistry and has specific interest in the modification of DNA and the synthesis of oligonucleotides. He collaborates widely with industry, government organisations and other academics.

Professor Smith also has a track record in research in transition metal chemistry particularly in gold chemistry. He uses this wide background in his teaching which currently is in the areas of structure and bonding and spectroscopy.

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Last update: 23/10/03