Advancing on-chip spectroscopic platforms for real-time bedside monitoring of antimicrobial drugs in critical care

About the Project

Supervisory Team: Prof. Senthil Murugan Ganapathy, Prof. Ahilanandan Dushianthan  and Prof. Kordo Saeed

Critically ill patients often receive antimicrobials with unpredictable pharmacokinetics, risking subtherapeutic or toxic levels. This project develops a miniaturized on-chip spectroscopic platform using mid-infrared and Raman techniques with AI analysis for real-time bedside Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, enabling precise, personalized dosing, improving safety, reducing resistance, and optimizing ICU care.

Antimicrobial therapy is central to managing critically ill patients, with 60–80% receiving these drugs at any time. Achieving optimal dosing remains a major clinical challenge. Critically ill patients often display unpredictable pharmacokinetics due to organ dysfunction, comorbidities, renal replacement therapy, or high body mass index (BMI). Standard dosing regimens frequently lead to subtherapeutic or toxic drug levels, compromising outcomes and fostering antimicrobial resistance.

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is essential to ensure precise, individualized dosing—especially for agents like gentamicin, vancomycin, and voriconazole, which have narrow therapeutic windows and high toxicity risks. Yet, current TDM relies on centralized laboratory analyses (immunoassay or chromatography), causing delays of hours to days. Such lags can be life-threatening in ICUs, where rapid clinical decisions are critical.

This project aims to revolutionize antimicrobial TDM by developing a miniaturized on-chip spectroscopic platform for real-time, bedside drug monitoring. Leveraging advances in mid-infrared (ATR) and Raman spectroscopies, we will customise highly sensitive, disposable chips capable of detecting and quantifying antimicrobials directly from small blood samples. These chips integrate enhanced spectroscopic structures with machine learning to provide instant, accurate drug concentration readouts.

By combining cutting-edge spectroscopy, microfabrication, and AI-based spectral interpretation, this project seeks to create a rapid, user-friendly, point-of-care device that enables clinicians to continuously monitor drug levels and optimize therapy in real time. This research represents a transformative step toward personalized antimicrobial therapy at the bedside, improving patient safety, reducing resistance, and delivering timely precision care in critical settings.

Entry requirements

You must have a UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent.

Fees and funding

Full scholarships include tuition fees, a stipend at the UKRI rate plus 10% ORC enhancement tax-free per annum for up to 3.5 years (totalling £22,858 for 2025/26, rising annually) and a budget of £4200 for things like conference travel.

UK, EU and Horizon Europe students are eligible for scholarships. CSC students are eligible for fee waivers. Funding for other international applicants is very limited and highly competitive. Overseas students who have secured or are seeking external funding are welcome to apply.

For more information, please visit our postgraduate research funding pages.

How to apply

Apply now

You need to:

• choose programme type (Research), 2026/27, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
• select Full time or Part time
• search for programme PhD ORC (7097)
• add name of the supervisor in section 2 of the application

Applications should include:

• your CV (resumé)
• 2 academic references
• degree transcripts and certificates to date
• English language qualification (if applicable)