Chemical Tools for Diagnostics and Therapy
Chemical Tools for Diagnostics and Therapy research program focuses on mechanistic organic photochemistry, emphasizing its applicability for addressing interdisciplinary problems in chemistry, physics, biology and environmental sciences, and it also deals with the synthesis and studies of supramolecular properties of host molecules and complexes. Flash kinetic methods are used to produce transient intermediates enhancing our understanding of photochemical and post-irradiation reactions. Photoactivatable compounds, moieties which upon absorption of light irreversibly release a species possessing desirable physical, chemical, or biological qualities, are being developed.
Current research activities are focused on design, synthesis and studies of novel systems that display specific biological activities or serve as auxiliary systems for biological or medical applications and investigations. The division aims to study the design, development and applications of photoactivatable compounds for biology and medicine and carrier systems utilizing macrocyclic compounds.
Heads of Research Groups
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prof. RNDr. Petr Klán, Ph.D.
Organic photochemistry
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prof. Ing. Vladimír Šindelář, Ph.D.
Supramolecular chemistry
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Mgr. Peter Šebej, Ph.D.
Fluorescent probes
Research programs
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Environmental chemistry and modelling
The research programme focuses on understanding the mechanisms and processes affecting the emissions and fate of chemicals in the environment and further expands its interest in study of the exposure of individuals and populations to the environment in order to provide tools for common interpretation of data from environmental monitoring and human biomonitoring networks.
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Environmental health
The new research program deals with biomarkers of exposure, effect and sensitivity of individual organisms, and other factors such as socio-economic determinants of health, nutrition or physical activity. In this context, we are strengthening technology capabilities for omics analyses, biobanking capacities and developing a bioinformatics platform to support the interpretation of multi-omics and epidemiological data.
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Environmental Toxicology
Programme focuses on the environmental impacts of both acute and chronic chemical exposures. We use the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) combining modeling and testing strategies to predict the environmental impacts of complex chemical mixtures. We investigate combined exposures to various factors that, based on individual susceptibility, can significantly contribute to an individual's excessive burden and lead to the development of pathologies.
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Chemical Tools for Diagnostics and Therapy
The programme focuses on the development of new photoactivatable systems and supramolecular carriers as specific systems that exhibit specific biological activities or serve as auxiliary systems for biological or medical applications.
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Loschmidt laboratories of Protein Engineering
The research programme has been dealing with the basic principles of enzymatic catalysis and development of protein and cellular biocatalysts for environmental, chemical and biomedical applications. The program uses protein engineering, synthetic biology and analysis of large data stored in genomic databases to develop and prepare useful catalysts.