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Ph.D. position in Dr. Petr Cígler group

The research will be conducted in Synthetic Nanochemistry Research Group in the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, AS CR, v.v.i. (supervisor: Mgr. Petr Cígler, Ph.D.).

Ph.D. thesis topic: Modular surface architectures on diamond particles

Fluorescent nanodiamonds are biocompatible nanoparticles with almost unlimited photostable fluorescence. The nanoparticles are widely used in biomedicine and diagnostics and they represent a new platform for the construction of nanosensors and biosensors. Various direct surface modifications have been described recently, however, the surface chemistry and the construction of sophisticated molecular structures on a nanodiamond surface are only currently developing.

The thesis will be focused on the preparation and physical-chemical study of new nanoparticles based on fluorescent nanodiamonds. Mainly, the following topics will be addressed:

  • preparation of monodispersion fluorescent nanodiamonds with hydrophobic monolayers and lipid double layers
  • search for the optimum conditions for dynamical modification of these layers with lipophilic ligands
  • nanodiamond modification with biocompatible copolymers: poly(hydroxypropyl)methacrylamides and polyoxazolines
  • new conjugation processes allowing the attachement of biomolecules on nanodiamonds: oxime ligation and "click" reaction: (azid-alkyn cykloadition) without Cu(I) catalysis
  • fluorescence study of nanodiamonds modified by new architectures
  • analysis of physical-chemical properties of nanodiamonds by quasielastic light scattering, zeta potential, transmission electronic microscopy, gel permeation chromatography and other methods





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