Almost everything you wanted to know about biomolecular NMR

The application of modern biomolecular NMR spectroscopy methods on proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes can reveal important molecular properties which are often inaccessible to other biophysical methods. Specifically, the inherent atomic resolution of NMR allows us to localize precisely interaction interfaces or changes in dynamics and molecular conformation. I will briefly explain how structural and dynamical features of molecules can be quickly qualitatively discussed using simple 1D 1 H and 2D N-H correlation spectra. Techniques for studies of interaction of proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes will be demonstrated along with use of spin labels using our recent work on protein-protein and protein-protein-DNA complexes.

Novel approaches in poly(2-oxazoline) synthesis for drug delivery and biocompatible coatings

The habilitation lecture focuses on the synthesis and development of novel poly(2-oxazoline)s (PAOx) with potential biomedical applications, particularly in drug delivery systems, surface biocompatibility, and responsive nanomaterials. The lecture will begin with a discussion on the development of an acylation protocol for polyethylene imine (PEI), enabling the synthesis of highly defined poly(2-oxazoline)s, which overcome the limitations of traditional cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP). The research further explores the conjugation of PAOx with therapeutic agents, demonstrating their efficacy in drug delivery applications. The introduction of novel amphiphilic gradient copolymers based on PAOx also offers new opportunities for encapsulating hydrophobic drugs and self-assembling into nanoparticles. Finally, the lecture will highlight the superior antifouling properties of poly(2-oxazine)s, presenting these polymers as highly efficient coatings for biomedical devices, surpassing traditional materials like polyethylene oxide.

Zeolites are crystalline microporous materials with application in diverse fields, especially in catalysis. The
ability to prepare zeolites with adequate physicochemical properties for a specific catalytic application is a matter of great interest, because it allows optimization of the entire chemical process. Nevertheless, directing the zeolite crystallization towards the material with the desired framework topology, crystal size, or chemical composition is not trivial, since several variables influence the nucleation and crystallization processes.

The lecture will present and discuss recent advances on the design of zeolite-based catalysts, where innovative rationalizations allow to generate precise metal active sites and maximize the stabilization of the key intermediates. These rationalized target zeolites will be applied as efficient catalysts in diverse environmental and industrial processes.

On-line attendance is possible upon request 1 day in advance at jan.prech@natur.cuni.cz

Spectral peculiarity and criticality of a human connectome

In the talk, I will present our study on the spectral analysis of structural connectomes from various organisms, utilizing open-access data.  We have uncovered exciting new insights into the human brain's connectome. One of our key findings is that the spectral density of the human connectome deviates more significantly from that of a random network compared to other organisms.  For most animals, their connectomes can be closely replicated by a network evolution model that favors the formation of 3-cycles. However, in the case of the human brain, preserving local clustering was essential to accurately model its connectome. Furthermore, the spectral statistics of the human connectome align with a critical regime observed in condensed matter physics, which is a hybrid of Wigner-Dyson and Poisson distributions. This result strongly supports the intriguing hypothesis that the human brain operates at a critical state, a concept that has been widely debated.
 

Electrolytes and interphases in Post Li batteries

Large research efforts are devoted to the Li-ion battery technology, which is now mature and plays a major role in the field of portable electronics and electromobility. Aside from controversial debates on lithium and other critical raw materials supply, the development of new battery chemistries is appealing, especially in large scale stationary applications for which cost is a critical aspect. Interesting alternatives are to use sodium, calcium or magnesium instead of lithium. Current efforts on these alternative technologies are mostly devoted to the search of new electrode materials, while studies dealing with the electrolyte are much scarcer.

Electrolytes (combination of salt, solvent and additives) play a crucial role in the battery performances. Among other important requirements, the electrolyte must ensure fast mobility of electroactive species (cations) from one electrode to the other, it must wet properly the separators and the electrodes, it should remain stable in contact with fully charged electrodes (large electrochemical stability window) or lead to the formation of stable interphase preventing continuous electrolyte decomposition.

In this seminar, I will introduce the main selection criteria for electrolyte components and show comparative studies of various post-Li electrolyte formulations and their physico-chemical properties (viscosity, ionic conductivity, electrochemical and thermal stabilities). Results will be discussed together with cation solvation trends and investigations on the electrode/electrolyte interface and its impact on the performance of Na, Ca and Mg based cells. Finally, the reliability of electrochemical setups to test new electrode and electrolytes for post-Li battery will also be discussed.

14.5.

• 13.00 Arrival and Accommodation
• 14.30-14.45 Opening - Tomáš Obšil
• 14.45-15.15 Introductory lectures of PhD students (1 year students - 5 min – 5 slides/each) : 01 - Martin Orságh, 02 - Ipsita Padhee, 03 - Jun Xie, 04 - Daria Sudakova, 05 – Andrej Šmelko
• 15.15-16.15 Future plans – Assistant Professors (6-8 min) : 01 – Lucie Nová, 02 – Oleg Rud, 03 – Pavla Eliášová, 04 – Jan Přech, 05 – Michal Mazur, 06 – Ondřej Sedláček, 07 – Junji He
• 16.15-16.25 Presentation of NMR Laboratory (Z. Tošner)
• 16.30-18.00 Free afternoon – volleyball (P. Eliášová, M. Mazur)
• 18.30 Dinner at the fire (it depends on the weather)

15.5.

• 9.00-10.40 Lectures of PhD students (5 x 15 min + 5 min discussion): 01 - Manayath Panakkal, 02 - David Šorm, 03 - Zuzana Vosáhlová, 04 - Klára Kohoutová, 05 - Behlssen Hleli
• 10.40-11.00 Coffee break
• 11.00-12.20 Lectures of PhD students (4 x 15 min + 5 min discussion): 06 - Sebastian Pineda, 07 - Anastasia Kurbanova, 08 - Indranil Saha, 09 – Min Li
• 12.30-14.00 Lunch
• 14.00-15.20 Postdoc Lectures (4 x 15 min + 5 min discussion): Po01 - Subha Samantha, Po02 – Luis Carracosa, Po03 – Zhaobo Zhou, Po04 - Carlos Bornes
• 15.30-16.00 Coffee break
• 16.00-18.00 Pavla Hubálková (Charles University), Otakar Fojt (British Embassy Prague) Communication in Science
• 19.00 Dinner

16.5.

• 8.00 Breakfast and Departure

We have a guest, Dr. Josef Bártl form the 1st Medical Faculty. His talk will be about The role of mass spectrometry in the diagnosis of inherited metabolic disorders.

Inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs) encompass a range of conditions displaying clinical symptoms caused by enzyme deficiencies, abnormal cell membrane function, or receptor irregularities stemming from genetic mutations. These variations lead to disruptions in biochemical metabolism, resulting in the accumulation of toxic metabolites or the depletion of essential compounds. IMDs manifest with a wide range of symptoms, affecting various organ systems at any age and are associated with a large heterogenous spectrum of biochemical markers. Hence, this poses challenge in early laboratory diagnostic and following management. Mass spectrometry (MS) represents a rapid analytical tool characterized by heigh sensitivity and specificity. It enables the simultaneous assessment of various IMDs including amino acid disorders, organic acidemias, and fatty acid oxidation disorders within a single experiment. The adoption of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) facilitates the concurrent measurement of multiple metabolites, thus allowing the detection of multiple diseases from a single sample. In our biochemical laboratory we are focused on developing analytical methods for detecting IMDs employing various biological samples, like serum/plasma, urine, CSF, blood and dried blood spot (DBS). Based on over two decades of experience in LC/GC-MS/MS area we have developed comprehensive analytical algorithm for targeted metabolomics applied in newborn screening and selective screening of IMDs. It contributes to higher efficacy in diagnostic procedure and enhances patient outcomes and quality of their life.

We have a guest, Dr. Tomáš Etrych form the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences. His talk will be about Hydrophilic and amphiphilic copolymers for therapy and diagnostics.

The conjugation of low-molecular-weight therapeutics with water-soluble or amphiphilic polymer carriers have several advantages, e.g. reduced drug toxicity, prolonged drug circulation in blood and higher accumulation of low-molecular-weight therapeutics in tumor or inflamed tissue, and enable highly effective tumor and anti-inflammatory therapy with minimized side effects. In ourgroup we study synthetic polymer carriers based on the methacrylamides as suitable drug delivery vectors. The accumulation of these polymer carriers in tumor or inflamed tissue is molecular-weight dependent. In addition, the size and shape of the polymer carriers is crucial for their biological behavior, therefore various structures were synthesized and will be presented. Importantly, such polymer vectors can be advantageously used also as diagnostics or theranostics. Amphiphilic conjugates with photosensitizers and hydrophilic conjugates with fluorescent near-infrared dyes will be shown and their effect in photodynamic therapy or navigated surgery will be mentioned. Last, but not least, the results of collaborative  research with companies will be presented during the lecture.

Mgr 1st/2nd year - Nováková, Pokorná, Mrzlíková, Hýbl, Hašpl

Presentations of the first year master students - Willimetz, Živný, Dědek, Šliková, Laštovičková