Announcement

The Kenyan National NMR Centre (KNMRC) based at the Department of Chemistry, University
of Nairobi, Kenya, is hosting a hands-on NMR training workshop.
Applications are invited for the above training course; we welcome applications from researchers,
lecturers, technicians, MSc students and PhD students in the chemical sciences and related fields
from universities and research institutions across Eastern Africa.
This workshop is fully sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry/Pan African Chemistry
Network and is aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Kenyan scientists in Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopic techniques.
Application deadline is Friday, March 29th, 2024
Selection Criteria:

• The participants will be selected based upon the following selection criteria:
• All participants should have at least a BSc (or equivalent) in chemical sciences and related
• fields (Biochemistry, Biology, Pharmacy and Natural Product Related disciplines);
• Participants can be MSc students, PhD students, lecturers, researchers, or technical staff;
• Strong relevance of the training to your current or planned research or teaching area;
•  Demonstrable benefit of the workshop to research practice or teaching in your home
• institution;
• Potential impact of the training upon the individual’s experiences and career prospects;
•  Immediate application of the techniques learnt;
•  Benefit to home institution and the wider chemistry community in your country.

To apply, you must:

•  Complete the required online application Google form, by clicking on this link
• Upload your CV (maximum length of 2 pages) and a recommendation letter (for students only) in the Google form.

This is a one-week long workshop that will include a series of lectures, group discussions and
hands-on learning sessions where participants will get the opportunity to run samples, generate
spectra and interpret NMR data. The workshop may include assessments that will culminate to
issuance of certificate from the University of Nairobi.

The training workshop will focus on the theoretical and practical aspect of the following among
others:

• Introduction to NMR Spectroscopy
• Theory of NMR Spectroscopy
• Applications of NMR
• 1H NMR spectroscopy: Chemical Shifts and Spin-Spin Splitting
• Applications of 1H NMR spectroscopy
• 13C NMR spectroscopy - Chemical Shifts, DEPT, APT
•  Applications of 13C NMR spectroscopy
• Introduction to two-dimensional NMR Spectroscopy
•  Applications of 2D NMR spectroscopy
•  Acquisition, Processing and Interpretations of NMR data
•  NMR in qualitative and quantitative analysis

This is an instalment in the mentorship series "Bachelor's & Beyond" presented by Dr. Francis Gachao Kinyanjui, an alumnus of the Department of Chemistry, currently working for SINTEF, Norway.

Dr. Kinyanjui will share his experience and give an overview of the career opportunities available in the Battery Industry for a Chemistry Graduate.

Third year and fourth year chemistry students are invited and a link for the talk will be shared in due time.

For inquiries kindly contact Dr. Fredrick Mwazighe: fmwazighe@uonbi.ac.ke

Dr. Andrew Shore from Royal Society of Chemistry will give a public lecture on Monday 3rd Oct 2022  on the Topic: "Introducing the Royal Society Of Chemistry (RSC) and the Pan-Africa Chemistry Network (PACN)-funding opportunities and  publishing in RSC Journals."

Dr Andrew is the Senior Programme Manager, International Engagement at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). He leads the RSC Pan-Africa Chemistry Network, manages the engagements and partnerships with international organisation such as EuChemS and IUPAC, is part of the Commonwealth Chemistry Secretariat implementing its strategy and developing its programme of activities, and managing the RSC’s official agreements and programmes with our partner chemical societies around the world.  Prior to this role, he spent 12 years in the RSC Publishing directorate, and 7 years as Executive Editor of Dalton Transactions, CrystEngComm, New Journal of Chemistry and RSC Advances.

Andrew will provide an introduction to the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Pan-Africa Chemistry Network. Andrew will present an overview of the publishing process at the RSC and offer tips and advice on how to have your work published in an RSC journal. Finally, Andrew will talk about Commonwealth Chemistry, funding opportunities and the RSC Inclusion & Diversity programme.

The Department of Chemistry, University of Nairobi in collaboration with the International Science Program (ISP), Sweden through the KEN01 Project is organizing the above virtual launch to commemorate the IUPAC Global Women and Girls in Science and International Year Of Basic Sciences For Sustainable Development (IYBSSD22).

The Launch will be part of many activities to be undertaken to showcase the contribution of various people in science, especially women and girls, and to enhance gender diversity. They will also highlight the fundamental role of basic sciences in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

To register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqcOqspzguGd2y_XrSv0q5NpGxn_pTe_Be

The Department of Chemistry in collaboration with Vision Scientific, Magritek and NRF Kenya are organising a virtual workshop  on Introducing The Kenya National Magnetic Resonnance (NMR) Center of Excellence.

The details of the workshop are:

Date: August 12th 2021

Time: 10:00 am - 1.00 pm 

Please click here to register

Graduate School in conjunction with the Department of Chemistry and in collaboration with International Science Program (ISP), Sweden through KEN 01 Project is organizing a webinar on the above topic on 25th June 2021 at 2.00-5.00PM.  
The theme of the webinar will be : Resilience and Resolution: Keys for a STEM Woman to Unlock the Door to a Successful Career

The University of Nairobi wishes to inform all students from colleges including the College of Biological and Physical Sciences who shall qualify for the award of various degrees and diplomas at the end of this academic year (2020/2021) that the next graduation ceremony will be held in September 2020. The exact date will be communicated. 

By Emily Karanja, MSc Candidate

Assessment of the Impact of Plastic Pollution on the Levels of Bisphenol A and Di-Butyl Phthalates in Water, Soil, Sediment and Weeds along the Kenyan Coastal Beaches.

ABSTRACT

Plastic materials have received global attention due to worldwide plastic pollution in marine and freshwater environment, and associated hazardous substances released from plastic wastes into water resources, air and soil. Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates are some of the toxic compounds from plastics and are associated with endocrine-disruption in human and wildlife. Phthalates function mainly as plasticizers giving flexibility to polymers with high molecular weights, while bisphenol A is part of the key chemical component in the production of epoxy resins, polycarbonate plastics as well as brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The objective of this study was to determine the impact of plastic pollution on the levels of Bisphenol A and Di-butyl phthalates along the coastal beaches of Mombasa, Kilifi, Malindi and Sabaki estuary. Water, weed, soil and sediment were sampled quarterly for chemical analysis between the months of October 2019 and January 2020. Extraction, clean-up and analysis of BPA and DBP was done at the Pesticide Analytical Laboratory at the University of Nairobi using Agilent 6890 coupled to 5973 Mass selective Detector. Levels of BPA were detected in different ranges with few sites recording below detection limit (BDL). Weed samples recorded the highest values during the wet season in Mombasa with a value of 11.66±0.94 ng/g followed by Pirates at 5.91±0.92 ng/g residue levels. During the dry season, Mombasa recorded the highest level of BPA in water samples with 0.429±0.01ng/g and 2.737±0.97 ng/g during the wet season followed by Pirate with 2.238±0.01 ng/g. During the dry season, soil samples recorded the highest concentration of BPA in Sabaki River, Malindi, Mombasa and pirate with 3.24±1.05 ng/g, 2.867±0.62 ng/g, 2.707±2.45 ng/g and 1.338±1.04ng/g respectively. Soil samples during the wet season recorded BPA levels BDL in most sites including pirate. The wet season recorded higher reading in sediment samples than in dry season, where Malindi had the highest of all with 3.765±1.17 ng/g followed by Sabaki Ocean with 3.532±0.42 ng/g. Mombasa and kilifi beaches recorded the highest BPA levels during the dry season of 1.357±0.41 ng/g and 1.294±0.12 ng/g respectively.  Di-butyl phthalate was only detected in Mombasa and Pirates Beaches with soil at higher level of 39.75±0.91 ng/g followed by Mombasa 18.53±0.29 ng/g. Pirate beach had higher readings of DBP in soil samples than in Mombasa and the same applied to sediment, weed and water samples. The rest recorded BDL levels of DBP in all the other samples except soil sample during the dry season while these two sites recorded some amount of DBP during the wet season. Except for pirates and Mombasa, the rest of the sites recorded BDL levels of DBP in water sample during the wet season with 1.291±0.13 ng/g and 0.786±0.22 ng/g respectively.  During the wet season, Pirate recorded the highest level of DBP in weed samples with 1.491±0.25 ng/g, followed by Mombasa with 0.533±0.39 ng/g, and the rest of the sites recording BDL. All the other sites recorded BDL residue levels in dry season. The rest of the sites recorded BDL levels of DBP in the sediment samples analysed during the wet season except for Pirate and Mombasa which recorded 3.040±1.38 ng/g and 2.181±0.49 ng/g, while in dry season the DBP recorded BDL levels in all sites. Except for Pirate and Mombasa, the rest of the sites recorded BDL levels of DBP in the soil samples analysed in both seasons .During the wet season the highest concentration was from pirate soil, followed by Mombasa with 7.556±0.63ng/g and 4.252±0.89ng/g respectively. BPA with high detection frequency of 87.75% than DBP at 17.86% may be due to different sources of these two analytes in the sampling sites. The differences was due to differences in the sampling location and season, environmental factors and physical chemical properties of the contaminant. Therefore awareness creation to educate industries and the public should be done regularly to prioritize sound environmental management of plastics disposal. The information obtained from this study provides baseline data on the levels of Bisphenol A and Di-butyl phthalates in marine environments in Kenya.

The 4th Annual University of Nairobi Annual Research Week 2021 brings together 14+ conferences covering a diverse range of academic disciplines, one of which is bound to meet your interest and area of expertise. Now in its fourth year, the conferences provide a forum to present your work, engage with your colleagues, and learn about the latest developments in your field. 

For students, especially PhD students, Research Week 2021 provides an ideal forum to present and receive positive critique on your work before you submit it for journal publication, or before your dissertation defence.

DUE to the on-going COVID-19 Pandemic we are again VIRTUAL this year.

This is the FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS for the various conferences. Details on each conference can be found on Research Week 2021’s official homepage at:  https://uonresearch.org/researchweek2021/

Please circulate widely among your networks.