Elkin Lopez-Fontal

Elkin studied chemical engineering at the National University of Colombia. He obtained an MSc in analytical chemistry at Birkbeck, University of London, where he was working on the development of systems that mimic interactions between in-membrane and in-solution molecules. He was recently awarded an MPhil in Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Cambridge where he worked on a research project about organic synthesis and supramolecular chemistry about information molecules. He is currently investigating calcium phosphate formation when driven by the dissolution of a 45S5 bioactive glass. Liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM) is used to study nucleation, growth and phase transformation of calcium phosphate as well as bioglass dissolution. A better understanding of 45S5 bioglass dissolution could be applied to the design and construction of smart materials for dental, orthopaedic, sensing and drug delivery applications, etc.