Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Agnieszka Dybała-Defratyka
Potential promoters:
Agnieszka Dybała-Defratyka
Piotr Paneth
Michał Rostkowski (as an auxiliary supervisor)
Agata Sowińska (as an auxiliary supervisor)
Contact person:
Agnieszka Dybała-Defratyka, 42 631-31-98, agnieszka.dybala-defratyka@plodz.pl
Scope of activities:
- Computations of mechanisms of chemical and enzyme-catalyzed reactions
- Studies of isotope effects on chemical reactions and processes
- Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopic analysis of organic samples
- Protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions
Present activities:
- Isotopic authentication of products
- Isotopic composition as marker in cancer diagnostic
- Combined experiment-theory studies of pharmacologically active substances
- Computations of isotope effects
- Protein-ligand interactions in selected dehalogenases
- Enzymatic degradation of selected halogenated organics
- Conformational dynamics of selected enzymes
- Computational (re)design of selected dehalogenases
Publications/patents, awards, projects:
Selected publications (last 3 yrs)
- M. Rostkowski, H. Schurner, A. Sowińska, L. Vasquez, M. Przydacz, M. Elsner, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Isotope Effects on the Vaporization of Organic Compounds from an Aqueous Solution – Insight from Experiment and Computations, J. Phys. Chem. B, 125 (2021) 13868, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c05574
- M. Julien, M. Liegeois, P. Hohener, P. Paneth and G. Remaud, Intramolecular non-covalent isotope effects at natural abundance associated with the migration of paracetamol in solid matrices during liquid chromatography, J. Chromat. A 1639 (2021) 461932, DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2021.461932
- A. Paneth, P. Paneth, Isotopic Consequences of Host-Guest Interactions; Noncovalent Chlorine Isotope Effects, J. Phys. Chem. B 125 (2021) 1874, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10691
- L. Chai, H. Zhang, R. Song, H. Yang, H. Yu, P. Paneth, K.P. Kepp, M, Akamatsu, and L. Ji, Precision Biotransformation of Emerging Pollutants by Human Cytochrome P450 Using Computational– Experimental Synergy: A Case Study of Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) Phosphate, Environ. Sci. Technol. 55 (2021) 14037, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c03036
- “RNA-inspired intramolecular transesterification accelerates the hydrolysis of polyethylene-like polyphosphoesters” Tobias P. Haider, Oksana Suraeva, Ingo Lieberwirth, Piotr Paneth, Frederik R. Wurm Chem. Sci. 12, 16054-16064 (2021)
- K. Bogusiak, A. Puch, R. Mostowski, M. Kozakiewicz, P. Paneth, and J. Kobos, Characteristic of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tissues Using Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry, J. Clin. Med. 9 (2020) 3760, DOI: 10.3390/jcm9113760
- A. Sowińska, L. Vasquez, S. Żaczek, R. N. Manna, I. Tuñón, and A. Dybala-Defratyka, Seeking the Source of Catalytic Efficiency of Lindane Dehydrochlorinase, LinA, J. Phys. Chem. B 124 (2020) 10353, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c08976
- K. Klajman, A. Dybala-Defratyka, P. Paneth, Computational investigations of position-specific vapor pressure isotope effects in ethanol toward more powerful isotope models for food forensics, ACS Omega 5 (2020) 18499, DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c02446
- F. Gelman, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Bromine Isotope Effects: Predictions and Measurements, Chemosphere, 246 (2020) 125746, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125746
- S. Kannath, P. Adamczyk, D. Ferro-Costas, D.T. Major, A. Fernandez-Ramos, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Role of Microsolvation and Quantum Effects in the Accurate Prediction of Kinetic Isotope Effects: The Case of Hydrogen Atom Abstraction in Ethanol by Atomic Hydrogen in Aqueous Solution, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 16 (2020) 847, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00774
- S. Kannath, P. Adamczyk, L. Wu, H.H. Richnow, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Can Alkaline Hydrolysis of γ-HCH Serve as a Model Reaction to Study Its Aerobic Enzymatic Dehydrochlorination by LinA?, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 20 (2019) 5955, DOI: 10.3390/ijms20235955
- G. Ciepielowski, B. Pacholczyk-Sienicka, T. Frączek, K. Klajman, P. Paneth, Ł. Albrecht, Comparison of quantitative NMR and IRMS spectrometry for the authentication of “Polish Vodka”, J. Sci. Food Agricult. 99 (2019) 263-268, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.9168
- M. Pokora, P. Paneth, Can Adsorption on Graphene be Used for Isotopic Enrichment? A DFT Perspective, Molecules 23 (2018) 2981, DOI: 10.3390/molecules23112981
- S. Żaczek, J. Kowalska, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Ligand-Driven Conformational Dynamics Influences Selectvity of UbiX, ChemBioChem, 2018, DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201800389
- L. Vasquez, M. Rostkowski, F. Gelman, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Can PIMD Make a Good Approximation for Vapor Pressure Isotope Effects Prediction for Organic Solvents? A Comparison to ONIOM QM/MM and QM Cluster Calculation, J. Phys. Chem. B, 122 (2018) 7353, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b03444
- A. Drzazga, A. Sowinska, A. Krzeminska, A. Okruszek, P. Paneth, M. Koziołkiewicz, E. GendaszewskaDarmach, 2-OMe-lysophosphatidylcholine analogues are GPR119 ligands and activate insulin secretion from ßTC-3 pancreatic cells: Evaluation of structure-dependent biological activity, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1863 (2018) 91-103, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2017.10.004,
- R.N. Manna, A. Grzybkowska, F. Gelman, A. Dybala-Defratyka, Carbon-bromine bond cleavage – A perspective from bromine and carbon kinetic isotope effects on model debromination reactions, Chemosphere 193 (2018) 17-23, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.10.153
Grants (last three years):
- International Center for Research on Biobased Materials - the International Research Agendas PLUS programme of the Foundation for Polish Science, co-financed by The European Union under the European Regional Development Found
- SONATA-BIS (UMO-2-14/14/E/ST4/00041) by NCN, Poland, Revisiting the approaches for isotope effects prediction in condensed phase
- Diamentowy Grant Program (0145/DIA/2017/46) by Ministry of Education and Science, Poland, An investigation regarding biochemical synthesis of styrene and its derivatives
Keywords:
Computational chemistry, isotope effects, isotopic analysis, computational biochemistry, enzymes, dehalogenation
List of internship proposal in this research team:
- Structural analysis and characterization of intermolecular interactions in protein-ligand systems using computational chemistry tools
- Benchmark studies of various bioinformatic tools for designing protein mutations
- Kinetic studies of selected enzymatic reactions
- Conformational studies of selected membrane proteins
- Benchmarking and testing tools for isotope effect calculations
- Testing tools for visualization and interpretation of intermolecular interactions
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Prof. Andrzej Marcinek, PhD, DSc
Potential promoters:
Adam Sikora, PhD, DSc, TUL Prof.
Contact person:
Adam Sikora PhD, DSc, TUL Prof., phone: 48-42-631-30-97, adam.sikora@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
Our current research interests focus on the development of detection methods of cellular oxidants and signalling molecules. This includes the design, synthesis and characterization of novel fluorogenic probes for selective detection of peroxynitrite (ONOO− ), superoxide radical anion (O2•−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hypochlorous acid (HOCl), nitric oxide (NO), nitroxyl (HNO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Our second scientific interest focuses on the biological chemistry of NO and HNO and the synthesis and characterization of their donors. We also conduct research devoted to the search for new myeloperoxidase inhibitors and novel mitochondria-targeted anticancer agents with antiproliferative activity.
Present activities:
- Synthesis and characterization of luminescent probes for detection of biological oxidants (O2•−, H2O2, ONOO−, HOCl);
- Design, synthesis and characterization of novel fluorescent probes for detection of signalling molecules: nitric oxide (NO), nitroxyl (HNO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S);
- Design and synthesis of fluorogenic probes for detection of NADH and NADPH;
- Synthesis and characterization of novel HNO donors;
- Detection and quantitation of peroxynitrite generated from nitric oxide in chemical models of biological systems;
- NO/H2S “crosstalk”;
- Search of specific and redox activated inhibitors of myeloperoxidase;
- Search of novel mitochondria-targeted compounds as anticancer and antiproliferative agents.
Future activities:
- Towards the understanding of thiols redox switches in biological systems - molecular mechanisms of thiols persulfidation, nitrosation and glutathionylation. Publications/patents, awards, projects:
- Michalski, R. et al. (2020) Oxidation of ethidium-based probes by biological radicals: mechanism, kinetics and implications for the detection of superoxide. Scientific Reports 10(1),18626;
- Sikora, A. et al. (2020) Boronate-based probes for biological oxidants: A novel class of molecular tools for redox biology. Frontiers in Chemistry 8, 580899;
- Zielonka, J. et al. (2017) Mitochondria-targeted triphenylphosphonium-based compounds: Syntheses, mechanisms of action, and therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Chemical Reviews 117(15), 10043-10120;
- Smulik-Izydorczyk, R. et al. (2017) A kinetic study on the reactivity of azanone (HNO) toward its selected scavengers: Insight into its chemistry and detection. Nitric Oxide. 69, 61-68.
We conduct the following research projects:
- “From selective detection of cellular oxidants and small molecule signalling agents towards better understanding of their biological chemistry” (Polish National Science Center, SONATA BIS program, grant number 2015/18/E/ST4/00235), 04.2016-04.2022;
- “In search of specific inhibitors of myeloperoxidase, from mechanistic studies to application in enzymatic and cellular systems” (National Science Center, SONATA program, grant number 2018/31/D/ST4/03494), 06.2019-06.2022.
Keywords:
biological oxidants, redox signalling, gasotransmitters, fluorogenic probes, mitochondria-targeted compounds, NO, HNO, H2S, peroxynitrite, hypochlorous acid, myeloperoxidase,
List of internship proposal in this research team:
Detection and quantitation of peroxynitrite generated from nitric oxide in chemical models of biological systems
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Professor Dorota Swiatla-Wojcik
Potential promoters:
Prof. Dorota Swiatla-Wojcik, PhD, DSc
Contact person:
Dorota Swiatla-Wojcik, Phone: +48-42-631-31-09, dorota.swiatla-wojcik@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
Computer simulation and pulse-radiolysis measurement based research addressing the energy deposition and impact of ionizing radiation on aqueous solutions, mechanistic understanding of high-temperature water radiolysis, solvent effects on properties and reactions of transient radical species, analysis of hydrogen bonding interaction, ion solvation in binary solvents.
Present and future activities:
- Molecular dynamics simulation based study of hydrogen bonding and solvent effects in aqueous systems at ambient and supercritical conditions.
- Kinetic studies of transient radical species in binary aqueous solutions.
- Mechanistic understanding of high-temperature water radiolysis.
- Interdisciplinary basic research supporting the nuclear energy applications, including:
- numerical simulation of LWR coolant chemistry,
- analysis of hydrogen generation,
-development of methods for controlling oxidising environment.
Selected representative publications (2014-2022):
- D. Swiatla-Wojcik, A Numerical Simulation of Radiation Chemistry for Controlling the Oxidising Environment in Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactors, Appl. Sci. 12 (2022) 947.
- A. Lewandowska-Andralojc, G.L. Hug, B. Marciniak, G. Horner, D. Swiatla-Wojcik, Water-Triggered Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Acetonitrile-Water Binary Solvent. Microstructure-Tuned Reactivity of Hydrophobic Solutes. J. Phys. Chem. B 124 (2020) 5654.
- D. Swiatla-Wojcik, J. Szala-Bilnik, High Temperature Aqueous Solvent Effect on Stretching Vibrations of the Hydroxyl Radical – MD Simulation Study of Spectral Shifts and Hydrogen Bond Statistics. J. Supercrit. Fluids 143 (2019) 126.
- D. Swiatla-Wojcik, J. Szala-Bilnik, High Temperature Aqueous Solvent Effect on Translational and Hydrogen Bond Dynamics of the Hydroxyl Radical — MD Simulation Study. J. Supercrit. Fluids 145 (2019) 103.
- L. Kazmierczak, M. Wolszczak, D. Swiatla-Wojcik, Ionic-Equilibrium-Based Mechanism of .OH Conversion to Dichloride Radical Anion in Aqueous Acidic Solutions by Kinetic and Theoretical Studies. J. Phys. Chem. B 123 (2019) 528.
- L. Kazmierczak, D. Swiatla-Wojcik, M. Wolszczak, Rate of Reaction of the Hydrogen Atom with Nitrous Oxide RSC Advances. 7 (2017) 8800.
- D. Swiatla-Wojcik, Water-Structure Based Mechanistic View on the Bimolecular Decay of the Hydrated Electron, Chem. Phys. Lett. 641 (2015) 51.
- D. Swiatla-Wojcik, A. Mozumder, Assessment of Hydrogen Bonding Effect on Ionization of Water from Ambient to Supercritical Region - MD Simulation Approach Radiat. Phys. Chem. 97 (2014) 113.
Keywords:
Solvent effects, hydrogen bonding, binary solvents, high-temperature water radiolysis, molecular simulation, kinetic simulation, reaction kinetics, supercritical water
List of internship proposal in this research team:
Kinetic simulation of complex chemical systems. A traineeship is related to the computational chemical kinetics and concerns numerical simulation and kinetic analysis of multi-reactant systems.
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
prof. dr hab. Halina Abramczyk
Potential promoters:
prof. dr hab. Halina Abramczyk
Contact person:
prof. dr hab. Halina Abramczyk, tel: 42-631-31-88, halina.abramczyk@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
The pandemics has witnessed an explosion in research examining the interplay between the immune response and the intracellular metabolic pathways that mediate it. Research in the field of immunometabolism has revealed that similar mechanisms regulate the host response to infection, autoimmunity, and cancer. The new tools by Raman imaging we present in this paper raise exciting possibilities for new ways to understand pathways of our immune responses, recognize metabolites that regulates these pathways and suggest how we might use them to optimize vaccinations to stimulate the conditions of adaptive immune system.
Research conducted at LLMS also confirms the possibility of implementing pioneering and innovative methods of oncological diagnostics based on Raman biomarkers in clinical practice. The biochemical information contained in Raman spectra allows not only to make a diagnosis and assess the degree of tumor aggressiveness, but also to understand the mechanisms of metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells and to track epigenetic changes that occur during the development of cancer disease. Research conducted at LLMS plays a key role in developing of effective oncological therapies. LLMS research on cancer diagnostic tools has a wide social and economic impact on the medical sector through the possibility of translating the developed analytical methods into clinical oncology practice, contributing to the improvement of spatial and spectral resolution of diagnostic techniques (especially important in infiltrating cancers), high sensitivity and specificity of diagnostics molecular imaging techniques offer hope for shortening the diagnosis time, implementing objective diagnostic protocols, independence of the diagnosis interpretation.
Present activities:
Development of diagnostic protocols for cancer changes in the human brain, breast and gastrointestinal tract based on the Raman biomarkers of cancer changes. Analysis of changes in the cell respiration cycle in normal and cancer cells based on Raman imaging with particular emphasis on changes in Cytochrome C. At the moment, based on the research carried out at the LLSM, it was found that:
- Raman spectroscopy and imaging (RS) and (RI) alllow fast and unambiguous distinction between normal and cancer tissues based on specific proteins and lipids (Raman biomarkers),
- The sensitivity and specificity of the developed diagnostic protocols based on Raman biomarkers were estimated, using chemometric methods, at the level of over 85%,
- Raman biomarker values correlate with the grade of cancer disease development - it is possible to create calibration curves linking the grade of cancer malignancy with the value of the biomarker,
- RS and RI allow not only to make a diagnosis, but also to understand the mechanisms of cancer thanks to biochemical information contained in vibration spectra
- Based on the designated Raman biomarkers it is possible;
- in-vivo and ex-vivo diagnostics of cancer changes
- performing in-vivo Raman-guided surgery
- performing an optical biopsy
- performing virtual histopathology.
Future activities:
Translation of laboratory research into clinical practice. Information on the publication and other forms of disseminating research results is available on the LLMS website: www.mitr.p.lodz.pl/raman
Keywords:
cancer, oncological diagnostics, Raman imaging, Raman biomarkers
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka, PhD, DSc, TUL Prof.
Potential promoters:
Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka, PhD, Dsc, TUL Prof.
Piotr Szajerski, PhD, DSc
Contact person:
Dr hab. Piotr Szajerski, tel: 42-631 31 67, piotr.szajerski@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
- Monitoring of natural and artificial radionuclides in air, water, soil, etc. (cooperation with Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection and National Atomic Energy Agency)
- Activation of the cyclotron's structural elements with a beam of high-energy protons (cooperation with the M. Copernicus Hospital)
- Transport and migration of natural and artificial radionuclides in environment, utilization of natural ans artificial radioactive tracers
- New materials for solidification and stabilization of radioactive waste and protection of radioactive waste disposal facilities
- NORM and TENORM materials, characterization, utilization, reduction of radioactive elements concentration
- Shielding materials against ionizing radiation and evaluation of radiological hazard
- Problem of radon isotopes in air and water, determination of Rn-222 and Rn-220, evaluation of radiological hazard from radon and reduction of radon concentration
Present activities:
The Laboratory of Isotopic Methods is part of the Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology and carries out research related to determination of natural and artificial radioactive isotopes in any materials. Our laboratory possess wide measurement capabilities within the range of: a) natural and artificial radioactivity of environmental samples (soil, plants, water, air, food, etc.), b) industrial waste (NORM, TENORM, waste from extraction, chemical and metallurgical industries, energy and power generation sectors, radioactive waste, etc.), c) food, biological samples, mineral resources, building materials and total, fractionated and other aerosols. Our laboratory is involved in the national and international systems of early detection of radioactive contaminants. The measuring equipment used in our laboratory are modern, low-background spectrometers of alpha and gamma radiation and liquid scintillation spectrometers as well as beta radiation counters. Based on the measurement techniques available in our laboratory, we carry out research and i implementation projects within the frames of presented scope of activities as well as various interdisciplinary projects.
Future activities:
Utilization of radioactive isotopes as tracers for processes occurring in environment; development of new measurement methods for selected radioactive isotopes; research on new materials for radiological protection; new materials limiting release and migration of radioactive isotopes.
Publications/patents, awards, projects:
- H. Bem, M. Długosz-Lisiecka, D. Mazurek-Rudnicka, P. Szajerski, Occurrence of 222Rn and 226,228Ra in underground water and 222Rn in soil and their mutual correlations for underground water supplies in southern Greater Poland. Environ. Geochem. Health, 2021, DOI: 10.1007/s10653-020-00792-z
- M. Długosz-Lisiecka, D. Tyborowski, M. Krystek, Radioactive fossils: The uranium anomaly and its paleobiological implications, Chemosphere 285 (2021) 131444, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131444
- M. Długosz-Lisiecka, T. Jakubowska, A. Zawada, High-Level Radioactive Wastes from 18F and 11C Isotopes Production J. Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste, 25 (2021) 04020072, DOI: 10.1061/(asce)hz.2153-5515.0000580
- P. Szajerski, Solidification of radioactive waste in lignite slag and bismuth oxide filled elastomer matrices: Release mechanism, immobilization efficiency, long term radiation stability and aging, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2021, 404, art. no. 126495, DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.126495
- H. Bem, A. Gasiorowski, P. Szajerski, A fast method for the simultaneous determination of soil radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) concentrations by liquid scintillation counting, Science of the Total Environment, 2020, 709, art. no. 136127, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136127
Keywords:
radiation monitoring, radiological protection, isotopes, radioactive waste, radon, dosimetrym (TE)NORM
List of internship proposal in this research team:
Determination of radioactive isotopes in various materials, research on transport of radioactive isotopes
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Marian Wolszczak PhD, DSc, TUL Prof.
Potential promoters:
Marian Wolszczak PhD, DSc, TUL Prof.
Contact person:
Marian Wolszczak PhD, DSc, TUL Prof., phone: 48-42-631-31-59, marian.wolszczak@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
- ruthenium polypyridine complexes as a probes of biomolecules
- electron transfer process within DNA helix induced by light or ionizing radiation
- chemical aspects of photodynamic antitumor therapy and diagnostic
- design and development of molecular fluorescence probes
- interactions of drugs with human serum albumin
- photodeposition of silver nanoparticles on titania coatings or DNA templates
- synthesis of albumin nanoparticles by electron beam irradiation
- some aspects of the radiation processing of electrically conducting polymers
Present activities:
Radical processes in the preparation of protein nanostructures with the use of ionizing radiation. Investigation of the phenomenon of light emission by albumin aggregates. Energy transfer in albumin induced by short pulses of laser light. New sensitizers for converting solar energy into fuel, with particular emphasis on hydrogen. Pulse radiolysis of amino acids and proteins. Long distance electron transfer along DNA helix induced by laser light between two intercalators, influence of nucleotide base sequence. Application of Marcus’s theory to the analysis of the process of quenching electronically excited states of molecular probes in organized systems.
Future activities:
Preparation of protein nanostructures of medical importance, converting solar energy into fuel or electricity
Keywords:
Laser flash photolysis, electron transfer, pulse radiolysis, photodynamic antitumor therapy, albumin nanostructures
List of internship proposal in this research team:
- Photochemical methods to study nanostructures of albumin
- Electron transfer within albumin or DNA
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Prof. Mariusz Wójcik, PhD, DSc
Potential promoters:
Prof. Mariusz Wójcik, PhD, DSc
Contact person:
Prof. Mariusz Wójcik, phone: 42-631-31-94, mariusz.wojcik@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
The main research fields in our laboratory are:
- computer modelling of radiation-induced and photochemical processes
- electron-ion recombination in ionized systems
- charge-carrier transport and recombination in organic solids, modelling the operation of organic photovoltaic cells
- electron transport in dielectric liquids, including liquefied rare gases
- modelling the electronic processes in elementary particles detectors, especially the liquid-argon based detectors
- theoretical studies of diffusion and diffusion-controlled reactions
- development of computer simulation methods
Present activities:
We develop computer simulation methods and other computational tools which are useful in the modelling of particle transport processes in disordered media. We apply these methods to study various systems where a transport and reactions of excess charged particles are observed, such as organic photovoltaic cells, or elementary particle detectors.
To give an example, we study how the electron-hole separation probability, which determines the efficiency of organic solar cells, is affected by the type and magnitude of disorder in a particular medium. We also take into account the device construction details. We have recently found that the well-established previous theory of electronhole recombination has serious flaws and proposed new solutions of practical importance.
We also work in quite a different field related to elementary particle physics. Our simulation model of electron transport in liquid argon was found to be useful in describing the operation of elementary particle detectors. We were invited to participate in a large international project, called DarkSide, which aims to explain the nature of dark matter by detecting its hypothetical particles using many tonnes-scale liquid argon detectors.
Future activities:
We plan to continue our activities, both in the field of organic photovoltaics and in connection with detector physics. We want to provide useful hints for construction of efficient solar cells. We also want to assist the particle physicists in explaining the secrets of dark matter.
Publications/patents, awards, projects:
- M. Wojcik, I. Zawieja, K. Seki, "Charge transport in disordered organic solids: Refining the Bässler equation with high-precision simulation results", J. Phys. Chem. C 124, 17879 (2020)
- E. Collado-Fregoso, S. N. Pugliese, M. Wojcik, ... , "Energy-gap law for photocurrent generation in fullerenebased organic solar cells: The case of low-donor-content blends", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 141, 2329 (2019)
- P. Agnes, I. F. M. Albuquerque, ... , M. Wojcik, ... , "Low-mass dark matter search with the DarkSide-50 experiment", Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 081307 (2018)
- M. Wojcik, A. Nowak, K. Seki, "Geminate electron-hole recombination in organic photovoltaic cells. A semiempirical theory", J. Chem. Phys. 146, 054101 (2017)
Keywords:
computer simulation, recombination, electron, hole, organic photovoltaics, elementary-particle detectors
List of internship proposals in this research team:
We offer a possibility of internship in the field of computer modelling of physicochemical processes.
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.
Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry I-34
http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/e_index.php
Head of the unit:
Professor Piotr Ulański, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Potential promoters:
Sławomir Kadłubowski, D.Sc.
Prof. Piotr Ulański, Ph.D., D.Sc.
Contact person:
Piotr Ulański, ph: +48-42-631-31-84, piotr.ulanski@p.lodz.pl
Scope of activities:
- Basic research in the field of kinetics and mechanisms of fast chemical reactions and physical processes in polymer systems, especially those initiated by radiation, photochemistry and sonochemistry.
- Development of new measurement methods for the study of fast chemical reactions and physical processes, based on the technique of pulse radiolysis.
- Development of new methods of obtaining nanomaterials, especially polymeric (nanogels, protein nanoparticles) and metallic ones.
- Development, production and testing of new polymeric biomaterials, especially hydrogels, and medical devices (including implants)
- Development, preparation and research of nanomaterials for medical applications, including nanocarriers for cancer therapy.
- Research on biocompatibility of biomaterials and medical devices, development of sterilization methods, validation of sterilization processes.
- Research on the composition, properties and thermal history of extraterrestrial matter (meteorites).
Present activities:
- Testing of a new method of measuring the propagation rate constant in radical polymerization
- Construction and optimization of the pulse radiolysis system with multiangle laser light scattering detection
- Kinetics and mechanism of radiolysis of model peptides - explanation of the mechanism of radiation cross-linking of proteins
- Development of new simulation and experimental methods for studying diffusion-controlled processes in polymer systems
- New materials for creating antibacterial and antiviral coatings
- Radiation synthesis of hydrogels from polysaccharides
- New polymer nanocarriers (nanoradiopharmaceuticals) for cancer theranostics
- Sonochemical cross-linking of polymers
Future activities:
- Application of currently developed new experimental methods for studying mechanisms and kinetics of complex processes in polymer systems and nanomaterials
- In-depth studies on mechanisms of sonochemical reactions in polymer systems and their applications
- New polymer-based nanoplatforms for controlled delivery of drugs, genes and radioisotopes
- Radiation synthesis of “green” biomaterials based on natural polymers
Keywords:
polymers, biomaterials, medical devices, biocompatibility, controlled drug delivery, sterilization, hydrogels, nanomaterials, nanogels, stimuli-sensitive materials, radiation chemistry, fast chemical reactions, pulse radiolysis, sonochemistry
List of internship proposal in this research team:
- Study of the kinetics and mechanism of fast radical reactions in polymer systems and development of new tools for this purpose
- Production and testing of new polymer biomaterials for selected medical applications (macro, micro or nano)
- "Reactions on the whistle" - initiating chemical reactions using acoustic waves (sonochemistry)
List of attachments:
See http://mitr.p.lodz.pl/biomat/
The portfolio of research groups was created as part of the Programme "STER" – Internationalisation of doctoral schools” as part of the realization of the project “Curriculum for advanced doctoral education & taining – CADET Academy of Lodz University of Technology”.