This diploma thesis focuses on the fabrication of ceramic fibres by electrospinning. The theoretical part of the thesis summarizes the currently available information regarding ceramic fibres, their properties, applications and fabrication. The theoretical part also describes the process of electrospinning as one of the most frequently used methods of nanofibre fabrication, as well as the parametres influencing this process. The experimental part is aimed at the fabrication of ceramic fibres based on titania, pure non-doped zirconia and yttria-doped zirconia by electrospinning and at the characterization of thus fabricated fibres. Ceramic precursors based on propoxide and polyvinylpyrrolidone were subjected to electrospinning. The experimental part of this diploma thesis also describes the influence of precursor composition, process conditions and calcination temperature on the morphology and phase composition of the fibres. Precursors were characterized by viscosity measurements. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Röntgen analysis (RTG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to describe the fibres. By performing electrospinning of precursors based on titanium propoxide and subsequent calcination at 500-1300 °C, TiO2 fibres with thickness of 100-2500 nm were fabricated. The phase composition changed with calcination temperature from 500 °C from anatase phase through rutile blend to pure rutile at 900 °C. By performing electrospinning of precursors based on zirconium propoxide and subsequent calcination at 550-1100 °C, 0 – 8 mol% Y2O3 doped ZrO2 fibres with thickness of 50-1000 nm were fabricated. An analysis of fibres based on non-doped ZrO2, calcined at 550 °C showed a composition of predominantly monoclinic phase. An analysis of 3 or 8 mol% Y2O3 doped ZrO2 fibres calcined at 900 °C showed a composition of predominantly tetragonal phase or purely cubic phase, respectively. With the increasing calcination temperature, the morphology of the fibres changed from porous nanostructure to chain-like non-porous structure consisting of micrometer grains of TiO2 or ZrO2. The ZrO2 fibres calcined at 700 °C remained flexible as well as the spun ones, while their fragility increased with the increase in calcination temperature.

Tato diplomová práce zkoumá flexibilní materiál k produkci elektřiny založený na piezoelektrickém polymeru Polyvinylidenfluorid (PVDF). Inkorporací piezoaktivní keramiky lze vlastnosti piezoelektrického polymeru PVDF významně zlepšit a převést na užitečnou elektrickou energii. PVDF byl vytvořen elektrostatickým zvlákňováním do vláken o tloušťce 1,5-0,3 µm a poté studován různými analytickými metodami. Tato práce nabízí popis elektrostatického zvlákňování, přípravu vzorků a teoretický úvod do analytických metod, kterým byly vzorky podrobeny. Morfologie a distribuce nanostrukturované keramiky do polymerní matrice PVDF byla pozorována použitím skenovací elektronové mikroskopie (SEM) a energiově disperzní spektroskopie (EDX). Pro tvorbu fáze a podrobné fázové složení byly vzorky charakterizovány infračervenou spektroskopií s Fourierovou transformací (FTIR). Práce také obsahuje analýzu s použitím Ramanovy spektroskopie, metody používané k identifikaci a porovnání chemických sloučenin. Elektrické vlastnosti byly studovány dielektrickou spektroskopií a je poskytnuta korelace se složením. Jednotlivé komponenty dotovaných vláken jsou charakterizovány a vyhodnocovány v souvislosti s jejich budoucím využitím v senzorech.

This diploma thesis deals with preparation and characterization of aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol suitable for electrospinning. In the theoretical part method of electrospinning is described, including parameters which influence this process. Literary research also includes a chapter about rheology, which deals with the rheological properties of polymers, specifically PVA. The experimental part describes the preparation and rheological study of of aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol, which were then spun. The morphology of prepared nanofibers was studied by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of molecular weight, the solvent, concentration of solution, rheological properties, electrical conductivity and surface tension on the spinability, diameter and morphology of nanofibers is discussed.

Platelet preparations are a source of various autologous growth factors and have numerous applications in tissues engineering. The aim of this work was to development electrospun nanofiber scaffolds with platelet preparations. Scaffolds based on the adhesion of platelets on nanofiber meshes were developed. The scaffolds were able to enhance chondrocyte proliferation in vitro. The main disadvantage of this system is the burst release of growth factors immediately after adhesion. To overcome this, we developed coaxially electrospun scaffolds with incorporated alpha granules. Alpha granules are novel platelet preparations with high amounts of growth factors. This system was able to stimulate chondrocyte proliferation and maintain TGF- 1 concentrations for 7 days. Additionally, a novel drug delivery system with coaxially incorporated liposomes was developed. Liposomes incorporated into nanofibers remain intact and can be used for the delivery of various molecules. The ability to maintain HRP activity was compared to systems based on coaxial electrospinning with liposomes, coaxial electrospinning without liposomes and blend electrospinning. When compared to other systems, coaxial electrospinning with liposomes preserves enzyme activity twice as long. These results clearly indicate the potential of...

Modification of nanofibers is an actual trend in tissue engineering. Polyvinylacohol (PVA) is nontoxic and biodegradable polymer suitable for preparation of submicron fibers by electrospinning. Main disadvantage of PVA fibers is rapid degradation in aqueous environment. On the other hand surface of fibers contains free hydroxyl group that could be chemically modified. In recent work, chemical modification of PVA nanofibers prepared by needleless electrospinning was investigated. Polyethylenglykol (PEG) linker was introduced to the fiber surface by acylation (PVA-PEG) and further modified by biotin (PVA-PEG-b) as a function agent. Process of chemical modification does not affected fibrous morphology of samples. Interestingly, linkage of PEG-b linker promoted stability of PVA in aqueous environment. PVA-PEG-b sample was stable for 41 days. Stability of samples was strongly dependent on amount of introduced PEG-b linker, thus proposed method of modification allows to prepare nanofibers of different solubility. Additionally, biocompatibility of chemically modified nanofibers with both mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and chondrocytes was determined. Proliferation of both cell types was not sufficient and number of cells decreased in time, probably because of high hydrophility of modified PVA scaffold. To...

Interaction preferences in protein - DNA complexes Dávid Jakubec Abstract Interactions of proteins with DNA lie at the basis of many fundamental bio- logical processes. Despite ongoing efforts, the rules governing the recognition of specific nucleic acid sequences have still not been universally elucidated. In this work, I attempt to explore the recognition process by splitting the intricate network of contacts at the protein - DNA interface into contribu- tions of individual amino acid - nucleotide pairs. These pairs are extracted from existing high-resolution structures of protein - DNA complexes and in- vestigated by bioinformatics and computational-chemistry based methods. Criteria of specificity based on the coupling of observed geometrical prefer- ences and the respective interaction energies are introduced. The application of these criteria is used to expand the library of amino acid - nucleotide pairs potentially significant for direct sequence recognition. Electrostatic poten- tial maps are calculated for individual nucleotides as well as for selected complexes to investigate the physical basis of the observed specificity. 1

Polymer and composite polymer-ceramic nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning process. Solution of 20 wt.% polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and acetone in the ratio of 7:3 was chosen as the most suitable precursor. When preparing composite nanofibers, 20 wt.% of barium calcium zirconate titanate (BCZT) or barium titanate (BT) nanoparticles was added to this PVDF solution. Given parameters were defined as the most suitable for the process of electrospinning: voltage of 50 kV, feeding rate of 30 l/min, distance between emitter and collector of 20 cm and needle diameter of 17 G. The effect of polymer molecular weight and the rotation speed of collector was also studied. Various properties of prepared samples were studied: morphology and fiber diameter, phase composition with the use of x-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and also chosen electrical properties. Lower fiber diameters appeared with lower polymer molecular weight and higher rotation speed of the collector. These parameters resulted in higher percentage of the piezoelectric phase as well. The smallest achieved fiber diameter was around 300 nm, the highest percentage of phase was 92 % and the highest piezoelectric constant had a value of 16 pC/N. Composite fibers filled with BT particles showed better properties that the ones filled with BCZT particles.

Polymer nanofibers used for the construction of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG) are new and promising technologies for energy recovery. Thanks to the generation of electrical energy based on mechanical movement (deformation), these fibers can find application in the field of self-powered electronic devices. In this work, three nanofibrous structures of materials were prepared by electrostatic spinning: pure polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), pure polyamide-6 (PA6) and their mixed combination PVDF / PA6. Non-destructive analyzes such as Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, XPS and electron microscopy were used to study the properties of nanofibers. Analyzes confirmed the positive effect of electrostatic spinning of polymers on the support of the formation of highly polar crystalline -phase in PVDF and , -phase in PA6. The structure arrangement of the nanofibrous material and their defects were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the contact angle of the wettability of the liquid on the surface was measured for the materials, and the permittivity was measured to monitor the dielectric properties. The described results make the mixed material PVDF / PA6 very promising for further research in the field of nanogenerators and functional textiles.

The diploma thesis deals with the treatment of polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers. PCL fibers were subjected to the deposition of plasma amine polymers in a low pressure pulsed radiofrequency capacitively coupled discharge using cyclopropylamine monomer (CPA). Collagen as an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein was immobilized and cell proliferation on the modified nanofiber surface was monitored. Untreated PCL fibers were also subjected to the deposition of an antibacterial copper layer, and the fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX).