Equipment - Biomedical Polymers

An integral part of the development of new compounds and macromolecular materials is the precise characterization of intermediate and final products. For the physico-chemical characterization of materials developed in our Department, we use the latest scientific instruments for the analysis of the size, composition and structure of the developed macromolecules, drug derivatives, fluorescent labels and other compounds. Below is a brief description of the devices of the biomedical polymers department.

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) in the organic or aqueous mobile phase

The department is equipped with a SEC instrument with state-of-the-art detectors; a multi-angle thermostated light scattering detector (MALS), a differential refractometer (Optilab) and a viscometer (Viscostar III) from Wyatt and a PDA detector and HPLC from Shimadzu. Thanks to the utilization of different SEC columns, we are able to characterize macromolecules in the range of molar masses of 2,000 - 1,000,000 g / mol.

Characterization of supramolecular biomaterials

For the characterization of the hydrodynamic size and the zeta potential of micellar and other supramolecular particles, we utilize the NanoSight NS300 instrument with the technology of Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). This technology utilizes the properties of both light scattering and Brownian motion in order to obtain the size distribution and concentration measurement of particles in liquid suspensions. A laser beam is passed through the sample chamber, and the particles of the suspension in the path of this beam scatter light in such a manner that they can easily be visualized via 20x magnification microscope, onto which a camera is mounted. The camera operates at 30 frames per second (fps), capturing a video file of the particles moving under Brownian motion. The software tracks many particles individually and using the Stokes-Einstein equation calculates their hydrodynamic diameters.

For the characterization of low-molecular-weight substances, we are equipped with several HPLC systems from Shimadzu with PDA and fluorescence detectors, and an LC-MS system for measuring molar masses from Thermo (LCQ-Fleet). For preparative purification of low-molecular substances, we use Flash chromatographic system from BÜCHI. We also usually use the FPLC AKTA system equipped with a UV and conductometric detector. Several UV flow detectors are used to purify substances during column chromatography. The content of chromophoric substances on macromolecules is detected using several UV-VIS spectrophotometers. Fluorescent macromolecules are characterized using a Jasco FP-6200 spectrofluorimeter.

Lyophilization

Due to the focus of the Department on the synthesis of water-soluble systems, we often use lyophilization (Gregor instrument) to finalize our products.

Peptide synthesis

Our department is equipped with a Biotage® Initiator+ Alstra™ fully automatic microwave peptide synthesizer with accessories, which is also suitable for use as a full-scale reactor for organic synthesis up to 300 °C and 30 bar.

An integral part of every laboratory are the devices necessary for organic synthesis such as vacuum rotary evaporators or magnetic thermostated stirrers or refrigerated centrifuges.