Interleukin 15 has great application potential such as in the biological treatment of cancer. It is involved in a variety of immunological processes, the most important of these involve influencing and induction of NK cells and T-lymphocytes proliferation. However, its therapeutic usages are limited by a low stability and short half-life. For this reason, there are various approaches of stabilization and expansion of its biological activity being explored. In this work, we analysed and developed a new approach, which uses viral nanostructures derived from major capsid VP1 protein of mouse polyomavirus as a carrier of IL-15. Moreover, VP1 proteins can be relatively easily modified and they are also capable to penetrate into the tumour cells. There were prepared two variants of IL-15 together with control nanostructures in the baculovirus expression system, one was composed of IL-15 and the other of the IL-15 fusion protein and truncated variant of VP1. Protein constructs were characterized by electron microscopy and biochemical methods. The total protein yield of VP1ΔC-IL15-HIS fusion variant was higher (up to 53 mg/L of complete medium) than IL-15 alone (8,5 mg/L). However, testing of the biological activity of the prepared proteins in vitro did not show any induction of proliferation on Jurkat...

The thesis is mainly focused on the investigation of macroscopic and microscopic magnetic properties of selected nanomaterials containing cobalt and iron, and also the capability of our new device, scanning probe microscope Multimode V by Veeco, to directly visualise morphology and magnetic structure of these samples (Magnetic Force Miscroscopy, MFM). Investigated materials, such as CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and SiO2_Co_Si(111) thin films and multilayers are in general promising materials in many fields. In the medicine, the nanoparticles are used as the drug targets or contrast agents whereas in electronics, the (nano)granular thin films are the starting point in fabrication of high density storage media. The macroscopic magnetic properties of our samples are discusses in a view of superparamagnetic phenomena. The interactions in systems of nanoparticles are presented theoretically within the up-to date knowledge and also experimentally by demonstrating the behavior of the strongly-interacting, uper-spin-glass system. The thin films are studied in term of their granular structure and magnetic anisotropy. The morphology and the microscopic domain structure, respectively, are studied with use of the MFM. The first successful results obtained in our lab by this method are presented.

Název práce: Optické vlastnosti křemíkových nanostruktur pro fotovoltaiku Autor: Bc. Jan Salava Katedra: Katedra chemické fyziky a optiky Vedoucí diplomové práce: doc. RNDr. František Trojánek, Ph.D., katedra chemické fyziky a optiky Abstrakt: V předložené práci jsou studovány křemíkové nanokrystaly umístěné v SiC matrici - jednotlivé vzorky se odlišují přidáním dopantu (boru) do příslušné vrstvy struktury během depozice metodou PECVD a pasivací vodíkem. Křemíkové nanokrystaly jsou významné zejména tím, že oproti své objemové verzi vykazují účinnou fotoluminiscenci a absorpci ve viditelné oblasti spektra. Změnami parametr· při přípravě lze ladit jejich vlastnosti s ohledem na konkrétní aplikaci. Základní myšlenka integrace křemíkových nanostruktur do solárních článk· spočívá ve zvýšení účinnosti konverze slunečního spektra kombinací několika tenkých vrstev s nanokrystaly a objemového Si článku tak, aby každá vrstva sluneční cely absorbo- vala určitou část spektra. Procesy, které se v těchto strukturách dějí krátce po excitaci nosič· náboje, však stále nejsou zcela popsány. Cílem práce je charakterizace těchto jev· metodami ča- sově rozlišené spektroskopie. Dalším úkolem je popsat vliv dopování jednotlivých částí materiálu a jeho pasivace ve vodíkové atmosféře na chování fotoexcitovaných nosič· a intenzitu...

In this work we investigate changes in dynamics of CdSe nanocrystalline films caused by different annealing temperatures and different conditions during films growth. We use methods of time-resolved laser spectroscopy like time-resolved pump and probe and streak camera to study these dynamics. We also measured linear absorption and luminiscence. Our goal is to match measured dynamics with dynamics of other samples with different annealing temperatures and discuss the microscopic origin of these dynamics. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Nanostructured thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering and gas aggregation sources of nanoparticles are studied especially with regards to their use in biomedical applications. The possibility of using plasma polymers for the preparation of antibacterial coatings is tested first. It is presented that sputtered nylon 6,6 films may be impregnated by antibiotics. The subsequent release of antibiotics from such prepared reservoirs may be tuned by their thickness, chemical composition, or by an additional barrier layer. The second studied type of antibacterial coatings is based on metallic nanoparticles overcoated with sputtered PTFE. It is shown that by a proper choice of the number of nanoparticles and thickness of fluorocarbon overlayer, a significant antibacterial effect can be achieved while maintaining the biocompatibility of produced nanocomposite coatings. The possibility to enhance the antibacterial effect by impregnation of plasma polymer/nanoparticle nanocomposites by antibiotics is also verified. Nanoparticle sources are used to study two-component films with 2D gradient character, too. A simple analytical model is developed allowing description and design of such nanomaterials. Its suitability is experimentally verified on 2D gradients combining Ag and Cu nanoparticles. Finally, an original...

Dynamic atomistic description of bio-inorganic interfaces represents a challenging problem for contemporary computational chemistry. A detailed analysis of processes occurring on the interface between biomolecule and inorganic material can help our understanding of various processes, ranging from chromatography and protein separation to protein immobilization techniques and their effect on enzyme activity or protein conformational stability. High complexity of bio- inorganic interfaces prevents detailed investigation using accurate, but computationally demanding ab initio methods. Since reliable empirical potentials are not available for these systems, the aim of this work is to develop force fields based on ab initio data as well as a general methodology for parameterization of such force fields. Our potential fitting procedure was carried out in an automated fashion based on molecular dynamics simulation. The resulting potentials were applied for investigation of inorganic material's influence on polypeptide conformations.

In this thesis, the single-level correlated quantum dot attached to two BCS superconducting leads is analyzed. A difference in the superconducting phases of the leads induces the DC Josephson supercurrent in the junction. In this setup, the influence of asymmetrical dot-lead couplings on transport properties is clarified analytically. The coupling asymmetry and the phase difference can be combined into one function, which allows us to calculate physical properties of a system with coupling asymmetry from the properties of its effective symmetric counterpart. The coupling asymmetry turns out to be an important parameter which influences the position of the 0 − �෰ quantum phase transition even in the strongly correlated Kondo regime. Further, this thesis contributes to the interpretation of an AC Josephson current measurement, in which a surprising drop in the amplitude was observed in the Kondo regime. The experimental setup is characterized using numerical renormalization group calculations of the equilibrium many-body spectra. Possible quantum-point-contact- based interpretations are discussed. Although a drop in the AC Josephson current at the experimental bias voltage is also expected in a quantum point contact, we conclude that the physical mechanisms causing it in the quantum dot system are likely not...

Color filters enable photosensors to obtain spectral composition of incoming radiation, be it to mimic human vision or to separate analytical signals. Efforts to increase the resolution of these photosensors lead to decrease in size of individual picture elements – pixels, which places increasing demands on the color filter technology. Conventional color filters operating on the principle of absorption of light in organic pigments are frequently used, but they are no longer meeting growing requirements of increasing sensor resolution. Here, metasurfaces comes to an aid, utilizing nanostructures to separate colors and thus creating structural coloration. There are many approaches to separate colors using metasurfaces, but each carries certain disadvantages with their principle of operation. In this thesis, we present a novel approach to separate colors which utilizes manipulation of radiation polarization. The presented color filter is first modeled and optimizes through numerical simulations and then manufactured using nanofabrication methods. Finally, the optical response of nanostructures is verified by several optical spectroscopy methods.

This thesis deals with the study of cells on nanostructured surfaces of titanium dioxide, which are produced by the electrochemical method called anodic oxidation. The theoretical part is formed by an overview of manufacturing nanostructured surfaces using anodic oxidation method. It mentions the influence of external factors on the geometric parameters of the structure and description of methods of characterization structures. Furthermore there is processed outline of use for biomedical application and the description of interaction of the cell with surface. The practical part includes description of the production of nanoporous and nano-tubular structures made on thin films of titanium by direct method of anodic oxidation on which was studied the influence of external factors. Described a procedure and production of nanorods structures and nanodots generated using alumina template (AAO) which is subsequently carried out the study of the behavior of cells, which includes tests of adhesion, examination of morphology of cells, assays of proliferation and differentiation. Structures are under investigation of the interaction of cells with the nanostructured layer compared with the smooth surface of the titanium dioxide.

Title: SERS spectroscopy of model biomolecules for SERS biosensing Author: Martin Šubr Department: Institute of Physics of Charles University Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Marek Procházka, Dr., Institute of Physics of Charles University Abstract: The main requirement for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biomolecular sensing is high sensitivity and spectral reproducibility. For this purpose, ordered silver and gold nanostructures fabricated by magnetron sputtering and lithography methods at cooperating institutes were tested in this work. Reproducible SERS spectra of employed model biomolecules (amino acids, lysozyme and albumin) were obtained on ordered silver surfaces at concentrations 10-4 M - 10-6 M and as low as ≈ 10-7 M in the case of porphyrins. SERS spectra of certain biomolecules were also compared to spectra measured on silver colloid. The limit of detection provided by hydroxylamine-reduced silver colloid, using KCl as an aggregating agent, is substantially lower (on the order of 10-8 M for cysteine), but with lower spectral reproducibility. The main drawback of SERS spectra measured on silver surfaces was the occurrence of spurious bands resulting from the preparation procedure. In the case of sputter-deposited silver surfaces, it was found that keeping the substrates several hours in...