Light-Responsive Nanofiber Materials and Nanoparticles for Inactivation of Pathogens

The main line of this project will consist of design, preparation and characterization of polymeric materials with nanostructured surfaces (nanofiber membranes, nanoparticles), mesoporous silica nanoparticles, and liposomes with light triggered and “dark” functionalities for inactivation of pathogens and for sensing purposes. The light triggered functionality includes efficient generation of reactive singlet oxygen and/or NO radicals for efficient degradation of biological target structures in a spatio-temporally controlled fashion. The new “dark” functionalities of nanofibers and nanoparticles (dark cytotoxicity, surface wettability, charge and chemical modifications tailored for selective adsorption/binding of target biological structures to be destroyed etc.) will be added using post-processing modification of the surfaces by chemical and physical methods.