PhD Studentship Available

Group web pages

Research Interests

- Nuclear magnetic Resonance (NMR)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
- Oscillatory and autocatalytic reactions
- Chemical Waves and patterns
- Magnetic Field Effects
- Redox processes with transition metal ions and complexes
- Biological pattern formation
- Flow and diffusion in porous media
- Kinetics and mixing effects in CSTR's

My research is focussed on experimental studies of chemical processes using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). I am particularly interested in oscillatory and autocatalytic reactions, which produce chemical waves and patterns. Waves of chemical and electrical activity are observed in a diverse range of excitable media, for example cell suspensions, nerve axons, cardiac tissues and chemical reactions. These temporal or spatial waves arise through a coupling of reaction with diffusion and hence are known as reaction-diffusion phenomena. Chemical reactions of this type are known to either oscillate in stirred reactors or form spatial waves and sometimes patterns when unstirred. Experiments of these complex chemical reactions can provide insight into how non-linear kinetics and transport processes couple to form waves and patterns. However it is the application of these model chemical systems to understanding pattern and wave formation in more complicated biological systems that is an underlying motivation in the work.

Career

December 2004-
EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow and Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham.

October 2000 - November 2004
EPSRC Advanced Research Fellow, Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cambridge

October 1998 - September 2000
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, working with Prof. Ken. J. Packer School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham

February 1996 - September 1998
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, working with Prof. Paul T. Callaghan Department of Physics, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

October 1992 - October 1995
PhD: Physical Chemistry; Thesis title: "Magnetic Resonance Studies of Model Cyclohexyl Ester Traction Fluids" (supervisors: Dr. Duncan G. Gillies and Prof. Les H. Sutcliffe) Chemistry Department, University of Surrey, U.K.

October 1989 - June 1992
B.Sc.(Hons): Chemistry, Royal Holloway College, University of London

Selected Recent Publications

R. Evans, C. R. Timmel, P. J. Hore, M. M. Britton: "Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Manipulation of a Chemical Wave Using an Inhomogeneous Magnetic Field". Journal of the American Chemical Society 128 (2006) 7309-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja0608287

M. M. Britton: "Spatial quantification of Mn2+ and Mn3+ concentrations in the Mn-catalyzed 1,4-cyclohexanedione/acid/bromate reaction using magnetic resonance Imaging". Journal Of Physical Chemistry A 110 (2006) 2579-82. http://dx. doi.org/10.1021/jp057201f

M. M. Britton, A. J. Sederman, A. F. Taylor, S. K. Scott, L. F. Gladden: "Magnetic resonance imaging of flow-distributed oscillations". Journal Of Physical Chemistry A 109 (2005) 8306-13. http://dx.doi.org/  10.1021/jp053063i

M. M. Britton, R. G. Graham, K. J. Packer: "NMR relaxation and pulsed field gradient study of alginate bead porous media". Journal Of Magnetic Resonance 169 (2004) 203-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmr.2004.04.016

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