Department of Polymer Membranes

Head: Eduard Brynda, PhD
(phone +420-296 809 266, e-mail brynda@imc.cas.cz)

Research

The activities of the Department are focused on three main fields:

• Preparation and characterization of new polymer materials -
  • synthesis of copolymers with a narrow molecular weight distribution and well-defined polymer chain length for supra­molecular polymer systems
  • synthesis of copolymers with liquid crystalline (LC) blocks for preparation of thermotropic and photosensitive polymeric materials
  • preparation of polymers with chelating groups for immobilized metal affinity chromatography of protein mixtures.
• Polymer membrane technology and operations -
  • preparation of proton exchange membranes for hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cells
  • study of diffusivity, permeability and solubility of gases and vapours in polymeric materials
  • preparation of composite membranes with ultrathin separation layers, characterization of morphology of polymer surfaces and heterogeneous structures by atomic force microscopy (AFM)
  • preparation of porous chelating material based on chitin derivatives and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes for separation of biological solutions.
• Nanobiotechnology for preparation of bioanalogous interfaces -
  • preparation of nanostructured molecular assemblies by successive deposition of biological and synthetic macromolecules on synthetic supports and study of the assembly formation and properties by FTIR multiinternal reflection spectroscopy (FTIR MIRS), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and AFM in aqueous media.
  • Specific assemblies composed of proteins, polysaccharides, and polypeptides are applied as biorecognition affinity layers in optical biosensors and separation media, as bloodcompatible coatings on medical devices, and cell-seeding coatings on polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Organisation Structure:

• Group of polymer membranes materials
• Group of polymer membranes and bioanalogical interfaces