Lab visit to the Kyushu Institute of Technology

Karolina Księżarczyk spent two months at the Kyushu Institute of Technology. This visit was funded under „Lab visit under CREATE project“ competition. The aim of the lab-visit research was to apply optical methods to characterize new organic compounds synthetized in the Department of Applied Chemistry and to create new biological materials applicable for stabilization of viral capsids. It is worth recalling that viral capsids and viral-like particles carry the promise of important and diverse applications in biomedicine, biotechnology and nanotechnology, especially upon development of chemically and/or genetically engineered viruses. Potential uses include new vaccines, vectors for gene therapy and targeted drug delivery, contrast agents for molecular imaging and building blocks for the construction of nanostructured materials and electronic nano-devices.

Due to the fact that chemical stabilization of viruses is part of Karolina Księżarczyk PhD project, the lab-visit in which she participated gave her the opportunity to learn the synthesis of new specific organic compounds. Their specificity lies in the strong binding to DNA (obtained from calf thymus), which Karolina was able to check by using optical methods, among others determination of binding affinity by UV-VIS titration.During her stay she was able to learn many methods of synthesis of chemical compounds while maintaining the highest standards of organic synthesis.

Karolina Księżarczyk also took part in The International University Exchange Symposium on Chemistry 2019. Moreover, during her lab visit she had a great opportunity to present her work entitled “Chemical modulation of phages” during 2nd Asian Symposium on Cutting-edge Biotechnology and Chemistry. During this event, she had the opportunity to learn about new research on innovation in the chemical and biotechnology industries, which will also affect her further development. The skills that Karolina obtained during the visit in the lab emphasize the aspect of optical technologies in applied chemistry. Also the knowledge about the behavior of newly synthetized biological materials might help in development of novel in vivo imaging methods.

Visitor

Karolina Księżarczyk

Dates

14 Oct.-14 Dec. 2019

Location

Research Center for Bio-microsensing Technology/The Department of Applied Chemistry at the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech), Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan