Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the CAS
Luminescent molybdenum clusters for radiodynamic therapy under hypoxic conditions
| Study place: | Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the CAS |
| Guaranteeing Departments: | Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the CAS |
| Study Programme/Specialization: | Chemistry ( in English language ) |
| Supervisor: | Kaplan Kirakci, Ph.Dr. |
| Expected Form of Study: | Full-time |
| Expected Method of Funding: | Scholarship + salary |
Annotation
Our work involves the synthesis of Mo6 clusters along with studies of their stability, luminescence, and biological activity. While these clusters traditionally generate singlet oxygen upon activation by visible light,we have recently demonstrated that they can also be efficiently excited by X-rays. Our most recent results in radiodynamic therapy (RDT) show that Mo6 clusters can act as effective radiosensitizing agents capable of producing cytotoxic species in deep tumor tissues with reduced oxygen levels. Consequently, these clusters represent a valuable platform for the development of next-generation therapeutics aimed at enhancing cancer radiotherapy.
Proton conductive phopshonate metal-organic frameworks
| Study place: | Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the CAS |
| Guaranteeing Departments: | Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the CAS |
| Study Programme/Specialization: | Chemistry ( in English language ) |
| Supervisor: | Mgr. Jan Hynek, Ph.D. |
| Expected Form of Study: | Full-time |
| Expected Method of Funding: | Scholarship + salary |
Annotation
The constantly increasing world consumption of energy and the connected environmental problems require the development of new ecological energy sources, which includes a wider utilization of fuel cells and batteries. Proton-exchange membranes are an important part of the devices that separates the space of electrode half-cell reactions. Up to now, proton-exchange membranes are made of mainly conductive polymers which have several drawbacks; high manufacturing price, permeability for some fuels or amorphous character, which does not allow deeper understanding of the transport mechanism. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline porous coordination polymers composed of metallic nodes interconnected by two- or multidentate organic ligands. The crystalline character of MOFs, the presence of pores, the possibility of rational design of the structures and tuning psysicochemical properties of the pores make MOFs suitable candidates for proton conductive materials. The aim of the work is preparation of new MOFs based on N-heterocyclic phosphonate building blocks trying to maximize their proton conductivity. By introducing phosphonate or phosphinate functional groups onto various N-heterocyclic molecules (bipyridine, pyrazine, imidazole), new ligands will be synthetized, from which new coordination polymers will be prepared and the proton conductivity of the resulting materials will be studied.
Updated: 17.2.2022 09:45, Author: Jan Kříž

