PhD thesis supervisor: dr. Andrius Garbaras (apply for recommendation)
Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA) for isotopic fractionation research in environmental samples
Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is an analytical method used to measure the ratio of stable isotopes in individual compounds. The CSIA method can be used to determine the origin of organic pollutants inenvironmental samples, and it is a widely used method to assess the trophic levels of organisms in food webs. By examining isotope ratios in amino acids, it is possible to draw conclusions about an organism's position in thefood chain. CSIA is also used in the study of chemical reactions, enabling the investigation of reaction mechanisms and pathways, as well as isotope fractionation during chemical processes. The main idea of this doctoralresearch topic is to use CSIA for studies of isotope fractionation in environmental samples. It is anticipated that during the study, the doctoral candidate will develop the applicability of the compound-specific analysis method. It is expected that the method development will involve samples of plant and animal origin (e.g. hair).