Training Seminar at International Medical University (IMU) Hosted by Shimadzu Malaysia

By Muhammad Ashraf Zainudin

Shimadzu Malaysia had organised a seminarfor Dr Tay Feng Huaito share his overseas research experience with researchers from IMU on using FTIR spectroscopy as a research tool in pharmaceutical and medical researches. This was a 2 days session focusing on the basics of FTIR spectroscopy and its application on the diverse range of research field.

Dr Tay was trained in the renowned Vibrational Spectroscopic and Chemical Imaging group under Professor Sergei Kazarian at Imperial College London where he gained experience in diverse research areas. He has published peer reviewed articles and book chapters in areas of stem cells, polymers, ionic liquid, energy, supercritical fluids, biomaterials and instrumentation. He has also collaborated with numerous research groups internationally such as National Gallery London, Firmenich, Unilever, ExxonMobil, Shell, etc. 

During his research in the UK, Dr Tay has received numerous awards such as the Dudley Newitt Prize for Experimental Excellence in 2009 and the Deputy Rector’s award in 2006 from Imperial College London. He was also awarded a fellowship from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), PhD Plus scheme focused on knowledge transfer and outreach to maximise impact of his PhD research work.

Dr Tay explaining how ATR-FTIR spectroscopy can be used to understand mechanism of dissolution in tablets.

The first part of the seminar was on the fundamentals of spectroscopy and pros and cons of the different measuring approaches possible in FTIR spectroscopy. The second part of the seminar was focused on more advanced applications of FTIR to demonstrate that FTIR is not just a QC technique but can be used on in situ studies where a lot more information can be obtained.

This seminar organised by Shimadzu is part of EAM’s initiative of driving forward research and how industries and academic research can benefit more by working together. 

Sharing the challenges of research and how FTIR spectroscopy could be used to decode the complex chemical information of the samples