Vědecké zaměření Oddělení biofyzikální chemie

The Biophysical Chemistry department implements two basic research lines employing fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy (“Biospectroscopy”), and electrochemical methods (“Bioelectrochemistry”). Supported by computational approaches, both directions aim at a common goal: to understand the structure, functionality and dynamics of biologically relevant systems at a molecular and atomistic level. The systems of interest lay within the context of current topics related to neurodegenerative diseases, cell signaling, immune response, gene therapy and enzymology. Specifically, we are focused on: 

Biospectroscopy

• Monitoring structure, functionality and dynamics of biomembranes. Namely by studying formation of lipid nanoheterogeneities, impact of ions and oxidized lipids on membrane organization, and role of ganglioside organization in ganglioside-protein interactions related to disease (e.g. neurodegenerative diseases). (Cebecauer et al., 2018)
   
• Studying aggregation phenomena of peptides and proteins leading to gain/loss of function or toxicity, and elucidating the role of the biomembranes in these aggregation processes. (Koukalová et al., 2018)
   
• Studying nanoscopic organization of proteins at the plasma membrane of cells of relevance to disease, immune response and signaling, through super-resolution microscopy. (Lukeš et al., 2017)
   
• Deepening the understanding of the relationship between the function and hydration/dynamics of enzymes. (Kokkonen et al., 2018)
   
• Studying and characterizing DNA condensation processes by advanced in vivo fluorescence microscopy for better understanding and design of lipoplexes for gene therapy. (Pruchnik, Kral, and Hof, 2018)
   
• Developing novel fluorescence methods and their implementation to the research of biological systems. For instance, the first calibration-free Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy technique (z-scan FCS), fluorescence lifetime correlation spectroscopy (FLCS), fluorescence spectral correlation spectroscopy (FSCS), fluorescence leakage assays, dynamic saturation optical Microscopy (DSOM), Förster resonance energy transfer combined with Monte-Carlo simulations (MC-FRET) and super resolution optical fluctuation microscopy (SOFI) were developed or significantly improved within the department. (Benda et al., 2014; Humpolíčková et al., 2010; Kapusta et al., 2012; Štefl et al., 2014)

Bioelectrochemistry

• Studying electrochemical processes of biomimetic ions and molecules at the polarized interfaces between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES). (Langmaier, Záliš, and Samec, 2018)
   
• Investigating the nature and effects of interfacial instabilities in two-phase liquid systems. (Trojánek, Mareček, and Samec, 2018)
   
• Spectroscopic, kinetics, and theoretical investigations of excited-state dynamics and photoinduced electron transfer in transition-metal containing (bio)molecules relevant to solar energy conversion and photocatalysis. (Takematsu et al., 2019)
   
• Theoretical characterization of systems containing several redox centers: interpretation of their spectroscopic and electrochemical properties in relation to electron transfer between individual redox sites. (Darnton et al., 2016)