Dr Jose Hernandez Santos
jose.santos@ubd.edu.bn
Associate Professor, Faculty of Science
Dr Jose H Santos obtained his PhD in Chemistry from La Trobe University, Australia, in 1996 under the supervision of Professor Alan Bond. After serving as an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines, he worked as a postdoctoral scientist at Dublin City University and AIST Japan where he nurtured and developed his research interest in electroanalytical chemistry. He joined UBD in 2004 as a Senior Lecturer and is currently an Associate Professor, actively involved in the development of analytical methods that are low cost and environmentally friendly. He is also a Chartered Scientist and a Chartered Chemist member of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. His current research involves fabrication of electrochemical sensors for detection and analysis of various substances in foods and beverages as well as in the environment. These sensors are not only environment friendly but are also low cost and easy to use.
EDUCATION
1996: PhD in Chemistry, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
1987: BSc in Chemistry, University of the Philippines at Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Analytical Chemistry
Trace Metal Analysis
Electrochemistry
Ion-Selective Electrodes
Environmental Analysis and Monitoring
Optical Waveguide Spectroscopy
Microelectrodes
Voltammetry
Flow Injection Analysis
Chromatography
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry
FUTURE PROJECTS
Construction and Evaluation of Homemade Smartphone Spectrophotometer in Studying Beer’s Law
Mobile phones have become part of our day-to-day activities and they are constantly changing the way we communicate and learn. The portability and ubiquity of smartphones has provided new possibilities for the chemistry laboratory to support blended learning and provide opportunities for entrepreneurial skills and environmental awareness. In this project, the students will design, build and test homemade spectrophotometer using a mobile phone and simple components with creative designs. The performance of the constructed prototype will be compared with commercial spectrophotometers currently being used in the laboratory in studying Beer's Law and absorbance spectrometry. This project will be part of a bigger collaborative project with a Computer Science final year student who will be in charge of developing the mobile Apps specific for the designed prototype.
Applications Invited
BSc and MSc
Construction and Evaluation of Solid-State Ion Selective Electrodes (ISE) Prepared from Pencil Leads Coated with Conducting Polymers and Sol-Gel Membranes
The aim of the project is to fabricate ISE’s from graphite pencil leads through electrode modification with conducting polymers as well as sol-gel procedures. The fabricated electrodes will be evaluated based on their potentiometric response with pH and various cations and anions.
Applications Invited
BSc and MSc
Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Properties of Selected Native Plant Species from Brunei
Many plant species indigenous to Brunei are unexplored in terms of their usefulness as functional food and medicine or as a source of compounds with special properties such as pigments for solar cell applications. This study provides a preliminary investigation on the availability of chemical components in plants that have special properties that may be utilised for various applications. The students should be able to integrate the theory and practice of spectroscopy and electrochemistry in solving real world problems.
Applications Invited
BSc and MSc
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
(1) Food Biosensors Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers. Kisan Koirala, Jose H. Santos, Fortunato B. Sevilla III (2016), Book chapter in Food Biosensors; Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC); ISBN 978–1–78262–361–8.
(2) Chemically modified carbon paste electrode for the detection of lead, cadmium and zinc ions (2016), K Koirala, JH Santos, AL Tan, MA Ali, AH Mirza, Sensor Review, 36 (4): 339-346.
(3) Adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution using untreated and treated (Metroxylon spp.) waste adsorbent: equilibrium and kinetics studies. Jeminat O. Amode, Jose H. Santos, Zahangir Md. Alam, Aminul H. Mirza, Chan C. Mei (2016), International Journal of Industrial Chemistry, 7(3): 333-345 [DOI: 10.1007/s40090-016-0085-9].
(4) Metal accumulation in the tissues and shells of Indothais gradata snails inhabiting soft and hard substrata in an acidified tropical estuary (Brunei, South East Asia). Sorya Proum, Jose H. Santos, Lee Hoon Lim, David J. Marshall (2016), Regional Studies in Marine Science, 8: 487-497 [DOI:10.1016/j.rsma.2016.03.010]
(5) Biomimetic potentiometric sensor for chlorogenic acid based on electrosynthesized polypyrrole. Kisan Koirala, Fortunato B. Sevilla III, Jose H. Santos (2016), Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 222: 391-396.
(6) Determination of Chromium and Manganese in Steel Using Digital Photometry of Solutions. J Vedad, J Solivas, J Santos and E del Rosario (2015), Philippine Journal of Science, 144 (2): 117-127.
(7) Meat Species Identification using DNA-Redox Electrostatic Interactions and Non-specific Adsorption on Graphene Biochips. Sharmili Roy, Ibrahim Abd Rahman, Jose Hernandez Santos and Minhaz Uddin Ahmed (2015), Food Control, 61: 70-78.
TOP PUBLICATIONS
(1) Correlations between gastropod shell dissolution and water chemical properties in a tropical estuary. 2008. DJ Marshall, JH Santos, KMY Leung, WH Chak, Marine Environmental Research 66 (4), 422-429.
(2) Adsorption behavior of cytochrome c, myoglobin and hemoglobin in a quartz surface probed using slab optical waveguide (SOWG) spectroscopy. 2003. JH Santos, N Matsuda, Z Qi, T Yoshida, A Takatsu, Analytical sciences 19 (2), 199-204.
(3) Preparation of microelectrodes: comparison of polishing procedures by statistical analysis of voltammetric data. 1996. TJ Cardwell, J Mocak, JH Santos, AM Bond, Analyst 121 (3), 357-362.
(4) Spectroelectrochemical studies on surface immobilized cytochrome c on ITO electrode by slab optical waveguide spectroscopy. 2003. N Matsuda, JH Santos, A Takatsu, K Kato, Thin Solid Films 438, 403-406.
(5) Experimental evidence of the reversibility of the first stage of protein adsorption at a hydrophobic quartz surface near the isoelectric point. 2003. JH Santos, N Matsuda, Z Qi, T Yoshida, A Takatsu, K Kato, Surface and interface analysis 35 (5), 432-436.
(6) Prism-coupled multimode waveguide refractometer. 2002. ZM Qi, N Matsuda, JH Santos, A Takatsu, K Kato, Optics letters 27 (9), 689-691.