Dr Nicholas Farr
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
EPSRC Doctoral Research Fellow

Full contact details
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
North Campus
Broad Lane
Sheffield
S3 7HQ
- Profile
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Having completed undergraduate degrees in both Human Biology (Loughborough University) and Law (BPP Law School) Nicholas joined the Department in 2018 as a PhD researcher under the supervision of Dr Cornelia Rodenburg within the discipline of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. He submitted his thesis on the evaluation of a novel, scanning electron microscope based surface chemical mapping technique for characterising polymeric biomaterials in 2021 and was subsequently awarded an EPSRC Research Fellowship.
Nicholas`s research targets the characterisation and ultimately functionalisation of polymeric biomaterials. Nicholas’s work focuses on applying novel surface analysis techniques alongside building international collaborations to investigate a wide range of materials.
- Research interests
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Nicholas's current research interests centre on the development of exciting and novel scanning electron microscope based analytical tools together with associated quantification methodologies/protocols. His research aims include enabling a fundamental understanding of the interplay between biomaterials and cells at the nanometre scale to be realised in order to guide future biomaterials research. Development of the electron microscopy characterisation methodology Secondary Electron Hyperspectral Imaging (SEHI) has been a key element of his research and has been utilised in conjunction with other established characterisation techniques at a range of length scales to enable assessments of cellular adhesion, viability and proliferation for a range of biomaterials.
Different biomaterials are known to substantially vary in their cellular response, but no clear mechanism for this response had been identified using existing material characterisation methods. A systematic analysis strategy for SEHI data, based on machine learning approaches, was adapted and extended to identify specific spectral signatures in terms of their biomaterial/cell chemistry or topography respectively. To date Nicholas`s research has been successful in linking together actual cell growth behaviour with SEHI datasets comprising of nanoscale structural, chemical and bulk mechanical information that was captured from blend biomaterials of dissimilar compositions. High quality publications resulting from international and UK based collaborations (including Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology and the University of Oxford) have received much interest with papers selected as a front cover articles. Future plans to build upon this research includes an objective to establish key design rules for future biomaterials and other polymer systems that take into account the role of nano-scale chemical and structural characteristics - a research area so far neglected due to the lack of suitable analytical tools/methodologies but is now feasible as a result of this work, and holds the promise of achieving a significant step forward in capability.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Characterization in respect to degradation of titanium‐coated polypropylene surgical mesh explanted from humans. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials.
- Revealing localised mechanochemistry of biomaterials using in situ multiscale chemical analysis. Materials, 15(10). View this article in WRRO
- Low-voltage SEM of air-sensitive powders: from sample preparation to micro/nano analysis with secondary electron hyperspectral imaging. Micron, 156. View this article in WRRO
- A novel characterisation approach to reveal the mechano–chemical effects of oxidation and dynamic distension on polypropylene surgical mesh. RSC Advances, 11(55), 34710-34723. View this article in WRRO
- Monitoring carbon in electron and ion beam deposition within FIB-SEM. Materials, 14(11). View this article in WRRO
- Identifying and mapping chemical bonding within phenolic resin using Secondary Electron Hyperspectral Imaging. Polymer Chemistry, 12(2), 177-182. View this article in WRRO
- Understanding surface modifications induced via argon plasma treatment through secondary electron hyperspectral imaging. Advanced Science, 8(4). View this article in WRRO
- Characterizing cross‐linking within polymeric biomaterials in the SEM by secondary electron hyperspectral imaging. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 41(3). View this article in WRRO
- Optimizing size and distribution of voids in phenolic resins through the choice of catalyst types. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 136(47). View this article in WRRO
Conference proceedings papers
- Secondary Electron Hyper Spectral surface imaging for beam sensitive biomaterial characterisation. Proceedings of the Microscience Microscopy Congress 2021 incorporating EMAG 2021
- Secondary Electron Hyper Spectral surface imaging for beam sensitive biomaterial characterisation. Proceedings of the European Microscopy Congress 2020
- Characterization in respect to degradation of titanium‐coated polypropylene surgical mesh explanted from humans. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials.