The research team of the project NanoFaceS, led by Dr Ivana Vinković Vrček, would like to thank Mandis Pharm company for their generous monetary donation. The funds donated were invested in the purchase of the new incubator for cell culture experiments, which allowed for the continuation of our research.
On July 7th 2020 at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, the public presentation of the thesis topic was held by PhD student Barbara Pem. The proposed thesis title was “Mechanism of interaction of endogenous biothiols with silver and gold nanoparticles”,supervised by Dr Ivana Vinković Vrček and Prof Valerije Vrček. The defense was held in front of the commission consisting of: Prof Mario Jug, Dr Ivana Perković and Dr Robert Vianello.
From November 11th 2019 to June 1st 2020, PhD student Rinea Barbir was participating in a research study in Helmholtz zentrum Munich, Germany. The research stay was funded through the DAAD scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service.
Rinea Barbir worked in the Unit for analytical biogeochemistry under the supervision of Prof Bernhardt Michalke. Her work included learning the techniques of capillary electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry and the development of a method for separating and analyzing the components of a protein corona on the surface of gold nanoparticles.
On July 7th 2020 at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, the public presentation of the thesis topic was held by PhD student Rinea Barbir. The proposed thesis title was “Interactions between silver and gold nanoparticles of different sizes, shapes and surface structures with proteins of different glycosylation status”, and it is mentored by Dr Ivana Vinković Vrček and Prof Sanja Dabelić. The defense was held in front of the commission consisting of: Prof Tin Weitner, Prof Olga Gornik and Dr Darija Domazet Jurašin.
The NanoFaces group hosted a guest junior researcher from the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technology, Jena, Germany, from December 9th to 16th. PhD student Ekaterina Podlesnaia is working on method development for anisotropic gold nanoparticle synthesis, and is planning to expand her work to other nanoparticle types.
The aim of her visit was to observe and learn methods for the synthesis of silver and selenium nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes. NanoFaces group also benefited from her experience. The visit resulted in strengthening of Croatian-German collaboration through the Bilateral project and the exchange of knowledge was for the benefit of both parties.
PhD student Barbara Pem spent time at the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technology in Jena, Germany from November 11th to December 7th 2019, as a part of the research visits financed by the Bilateral project Germany-Croatia.
Student Pem learned the technique localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and performed the experiments to monitor fibrinogen binding to the gold nanoparticle surface, which directly continues the line of research of other students in the NanoFaceS group. Also, during her stay she performed preliminary measurements of protein-nanoparticle interactions by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Her newly acquired knowledge she can apply to the continuation of the research after coming back to Zagreb.
On Friday November 29th, the DNA Middle Germany Meeting was held at the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig, Germany. The meeting was co-organised by Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technology from Jena and the University of Potsdam. The aim was to gather experts on DNA research and nanoparticle development for sensing and diagnostic applications.
PhD student Barbara Pem held a short presentation about the NanoFaceS project titled: “Interaction of metallic nanoparticles with biomolecules: the implications for nano-bio interface”.
The presentation is available by following this link.
PhD student Krunoslav Ilić stayed at University of Marseille (U1067 Aix-Marseille Univ, INSERM, CNRS), France, from October 21st to November 21st 2019. in the Atomic Force Microscopy group led by dr. Felix Rico. During that time he performed research on the effect of nanoparticles on mechanical properties of cells, and the biophysical parameters of interactions at nano-bio interface. The stay was funded by French Embassy in Croatia.
The Synergy Symposium for NanoBioMedicine was held on November 4th and 5th 2019 in Zagreb. The event, co-organized by nanotechnology groups from the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and Ruđer Bošković Institute, brought together the collaborators from five projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation.
The projects OrDeN (IP-2016-06-1137), NanoFaces (IP-2016-06-2436), CaPBiomimNanocomp (IP-2018-01-1493), NanoFlavNeuroProtect (IP-2016-06-8415), and NutriNTENSe (IP-2018-01-8119) are focused on nanotechnology and development of new systems for biomedical applications. This event provided the opportunity for researchers to present their work, learn more about the different experimental and theoretical approaches to the nanobiomedical field and create new connections and collaborations. It was also a great occasion for PhD students to show their progress.
The Symposium hosted two invited international speakers that are each renowned experts in their fields of study. Prof Heinrich Lang from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany held a lecture “From: Small Tailor-made Molecules To: New Materials”. Prof Konrad Kowalski from the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Łódz, Poland presented the lecture “Organometallic Xeno-Nucleic Acid Nucleosides: Synthesis and Biological Activity”. Afterwards, the PhD students from all five projects presented some of their results. The event was concluded with the discussion and networking activities.
On November 4th – 5th, the Synergy Symposium for NanoBioMedicine will be held at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry and Rudjer Boskovic Institute in Zagreb. The Symposium is organized by the collaborators from four projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation: OrDeN (IP-2016-06-1137), NanoFaces (IP-2016-06-2436), CaPBiomimNanocomp (IP-2018-01-1493), NanoFlavNeuroProtect (IP-2016-06-8415), and NutriNTENSe (IP-2018-01-8119)
The aim of the symposium is to bring together the researchers from nanomedicine-focused projects in Croatia, to foster collaboration and communication, encourage the exchange of knowledge and skills and provide the opportunity for PhD students to present their work. The symposium will host esteemed international guests: Prof Heinrich Lang from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Germany and Prof Konrad Kowalski from the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Łódz, Poland, who will be holding the keynote lectures.
The programme of the event can be found here.