The Institute

The Division of Biomedical Physico-Chemistry is the youngest Department at INTiBS - the department was established in 2021 in response to the growing interest in the use of modern nanomaterials in biomedical applications. The employees of the Department develop new luminescent markers for (bio)imaging and (bio)detection of physical quantities (temperature, pressure), chemical and biochemical quantities, modern nanomaterials for filling bone defects, as well as antibacterial materials. For this purpose, various methods of nanomaterial synthesis and modern methods of studying structural and spectroscopic properties are used.

The Department consists of two thematic research groups:

• LuNASI – Luminescence Nanoparticles for Sensing and Imaging (WEB PAGE)
  • prof. dr hab. inż. Artur Bednarkiewicz – the group specializes in obtaining and studying avalanche emission of photons, biodetection, bioimaging, modeling of luminescence dynamics / kinetics, construction of optical and measuring systems
  • prof. dr hab. Łukasz Marciniak – the group specializes in the development of new materials and techniques used in luminescence thermometry, luminescence manometry, luminescent pH meters and optical power density meters as well as light-to-heat converters doped with lanthanide and transition metal ions

• BBRA - Biomaterials for Bio-Related Applications
  • prof. dr hab. Rafał Wiglusz - the group is working on nano-sized materials (e.g. hydroxyaptites (nHAp)) doped with rare-earth metal ions, as well as alkali metal ions that can be used for theranostic applications (therapy+diagnostics). Another important area of research is biomaterials such as hydrogels and polymers, which can find many different applications in medicine, e.g. wound healing, drug delivery, etc. The combination of these two fields creates a comprehensive and interdisciplinary research potential, thanks to which scientists make a significant contribution to improving quality of life.

The head of the department is Prof. Dr. Artur Bednarkiewicz.

RESEARCH AREAS:

• New luminescent tags / labels, new methods of detection and analysis of luminescent properties using non-radiative resonant energy transfer FRET.
• New luminescent labels for imaging physical (temperature, pressure) and chemical (pH) quantities, including imaging below the light diffraction limit
• Modern nanomaterials for filling bone defects
• Antimicrobial materials
• Multifunctional and biomedical materials
• Photonic materials

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS (2018-2022)

BIOSENSORS

• Engineering architecture of core-shell upconverting lanthanide-doped nanoparticles for optimal donor in resonance energy transfer, Aleksandra Pilch-Wrobel, Agata M. Kotulska, Satu Lahtinen, Tero Soukka*, Artur Bednarkiewicz*, Small 2022, e2200464
• Enhancing FRET biosensing beyond 10 nm with photon avalanche nanoparticles, A.Bednarkiewicz, E.Chan, K.Prorok, Nanoscale Adv., 2020,2, 4863-4872
• Single-Cell Biodetection by Upconverting Microspinners, Elisa Ortiz-Rivero, Katarzyna Prorok, Michał Skowicki, Dasheng Lu, Artur Bednarkiewicz,* Daniel Jaque,* and Patricia Haro-González, Small 2019, 15(46), 1904154

LUMINESCENT THERMOMETRY

• Marciniak, W. Piotrowski, M. Szalkowski, V. Kinzhybalo, M. Drozd, M. Dramicanin, A. Bednarkiewicz, Highly sensitive luminescence nanothermometry and thermal imaging facilitated by phase transition, Chem Eng J 427 (2022) 131941.
• Drabik, L. Marciniak, Excited-state absorption for ratiometric thermal imaging, ACS Appl Mater &Interf, 13 (2021) 1261–1269.
• Piotrowski, K. Trejgis, K. Maciejewska, K. Ledwa, B. Fond, L. Marciniak, Thermochromic luminescent nanomaterials based on Mn⁴⁺/Tb³⁺ codoping for temperature imaging with digital cameras, ACS Appl Mater & Interf, 12 2020) 44039-44048.
• Wujczyk, A. Watras, K. Szyszka, R.J. Wiglusz, Influence of vanadium concentration on up-conversion luminescence in Er³⁺-Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺-Yb³⁺ ions pair co-doped YV_xP_{1− x}O₄ solid state solution, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 884 (2021) 161022.

PHOTON AVALANCHE EMISSION

• Photon avalanche in nanoparticles goes multicolour, A.Bednarkiewicz* and M.Szalkowski, Nature Nanotechnology, News & Views DOI 10.1038/s41565-022-01100-9
• Giant nonlinear optical responses from photon avalanching nanoparticles, Changhwan Lee, Emma Xu, Yawei Liu, Ayelet Teitelboim, Kaiyuan Yao, Angel Fernandez-Bravo, Agata Kotulska, Sang Hwan Nam, Yung Doug Suh, Artur Bednarkiewicz, Bruce E. Cohen, Emory M. Chan, P. James Schuck, Nature, vol 592, no.7841 (14.01.2021) + cover page

BIOIMAGING

• Near-Infrared Excited Luminescence Imaging of HeLa Cells by Using Mn²⁺ Enhanced Tb³⁺, Yb³⁺ Cooperative Upconversion in NaYF₄ Nanocrystals, Katarzyna Prorok, Michał Skowicki, Agnieszka Kowalczyk, Tomasz Lipiński, Artur Bednarkiewicz, Nanoscale Adv., 2019,1, 3463-3473
• Luminescence based temperature bio-imaging: status, challenges and perspectives, A.Bednarkiewicz, J. Drabik, K. Trejgis, D. Jaque, E. Ximendes, L. Marciniak, Applied Physics Reviews 2021, APPLIED PHYSICS REVIEWS 8 (1)
• Szyszka, S. Targońska, A. Lewińska, A. Watras, R.J. Wiglusz, Quenching of the Eu³⁺ luminescence by Cu²⁺ ions in the nanosized hydroxyapatite designed for future bio-detection, Nanomaterials, 11 (2021) 464.

LIGHT-TO-HEAT CONVERSION

• Marciniak, A. Pilch, S. Arabasz,  D. Jin, A. Bednarkiewicz, Heterogeneously Nd³⁺ Doped Single Nanoparticles for NIR-induced Heat Conversion, Luminescence, and Thermometry, Nanoscale, 9 (2017) 8288-8297.
• Marciniak, K. Kniec, K. Elzbieciak, A. Bednarkiewicz Non-plasmonic NIR-Activated Photothermal Agents for Photothermal Therapy. In: Benayas A., Hemmer E., Hong G., Jaque D. (eds) Near Infrared-Emitting Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications. Springer, Cham (2020) 305-347.
• Pasciak, A. Pilch-Wróbel, L. Marciniak, P. J. Schuck, A. Bednarkiewicz, Standardization of light-to-heat conversion efficiency of colloidal nanoheaters, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 13 (2021) 44556–44567.

BIOMATERIALS

• Sobierajska, N. Nowak, J. Rewak-Soroczynska, S. Targonska, A. Lewińska, L. Grosman, R.J. Wiglusz, Investigation of topography effect on antibacterial properties and biocompatibility of nanohydroxyapatites activated with zinc and copper ions: In vitro study of colloids, hydrogel scaffolds and pellets, Materials Science and Engineering: C (2021) 112547.
• Nowak and R.J. Wiglusz, A Study of Vanadate Group Substitution into Nanosized Hydroxyapatite Doped with Eu³⁺ Ions as a Potential Tissue Replacement Material, Nanomaterials, 12 (2022) 77.
• J. Wiglusz, Nanostructural Materials with Rare Earth Ions: Synthesis, Physicochemical Characterization, Modification and Applications, Nanomaterials, 11 (2021) 1848.

BIOPOLIMERS

• Sara Targonska, Monika Dobrzynska-Mizera, Marta Wujczyk, Justyna Rewak-Soroczynska, Monika Knitter, Katarzyna Dopierala, Jacek Andrzejewski, Rafal J Wiglusz, New way to obtain the poly (L-lactide-co-D, L-lactide) blend filled with nanohydroxyapatite as biomaterial for 3D-printed bone-reconstruction implants, European Polymer Journal, 165 (2022) 110997.
• Konrad Szustakiewicz, Małgorzata Gazińska, Bartłomiej Kryszak, Michał Grzymajło, Jacek Pigłowski, Rafał J Wiglusz, Masami Okamoto, The influence of hydroxyapatite content on properties of poly (L-lactide)/hydroxyapatite porous scaffolds obtained using thermal induced phase separation technique, European Polymer Journal, 113 (2019) 313-320.
• Rewak-Soroczynska, P. Sobierajska, S. Targonska, A. Piecuch, L. Grosman, J. Rachuna, S. Wasik, M. Arabski, R. Ogorek, R. J. Wiglusz, New Approach to Antifungal Activity of Fluconazole Incorporated into the Porous 6-Anhydro-α-l-Galacto-β-d-Galactan Structures Modified with Nanohydroxyapatite for Chronic-Wound Treatments-In Vitro Evaluation, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22 (2021) 3112.

BIOMEDICNE

• Sobierajska, B. Pozniak, M. Tikhomirov, J. Miller, L. Mrowczynska, A. Piecuch, J. Rewak-Soroczynska, A. Dorotkiewicz-Jach, Z. Drulis-Kawa, R.J. Wiglusz, Multifunctionality of Nanosized Calcium Apatite Dual-Doped with Li⁺/Eu³⁺ Ions Related to Cell Culture Studies and Cytotoxicity Evaluation In Vitro, Biomolecules, 11 (2021) 1388.
• Kuzan, M. Wujczyk, R.J. Wiglusz, The Study of the Aorta Metallomics in the Context of Atherosclerosis, Biomolecules, 11 (2021) 946.
• Rybak, M. Janeczek, M. Dobrzynski, M. Wujczyk, A. Czerski, P. Kuropka, A. Noszczyk-Nowak, M. Szymonowicz, A. Sender-Janeczek, K. Wiglusz, R.J. Wiglusz, Study of Flebogrif®—A New Tool for Mechanical Sclerotherapy—Effectiveness Assessment Based on Animal Model, Nanomaterials, 11 (2021) 544.

SELECTED PATENTS AND PATENTS APPLICATIONS

2021     Polish patent application P.437330 Układ pomiarowy oraz sposób do wyznaczania sprawności konwersji światła z zakresu VIS i NIR na ciepło w nanomateriałach koloidalnych, A.Paściak, A.Bednarkiewicz, Ł.Marciniak (17.03.2021, P.437330)

2017       PCT/PL2017/050015 - A luminescence detector for temperature measurement  and a method of non-contact temperature measurement of the objects. – pending Ł. Marciniak, A. Bednarkiewicz, D. Hreniak, W. Strek

2016       P.416543 - Detektor luminescencyjny przeznaczony do pomiaru temperatury oraz sposób bezkontaktowego pomiaru temperatury obiektów – zgłoszony Ł. Marciniak, A. Bednarkiewicz, D. Hreniak, W. Strek

2009       B1 (11) 229920 -  Sposób wytwarzania nanokrystalicznych czystych hydroksy- apatytów Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂ - R.J. Wiglusz

2017      WO 2017/131540 A2 – Nanocristalline calcium hydroxyapatite, methode for its manufacture and use therefore in regenerative medicine – R.J. Wiglusz, K. Marycz.

MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENTATION

1. Nikon TiX inverted fluorescence microscope coupled with laser excitation and measurement of kinetics, luminescence spectra and dependence of luminescence intensity on excitation power (Andor Shemrock i500, Newton CCD, 3-channel cooled photomultiplier)
2. Z-sizer Malvern
3. Spektrometr FLS 1000
4. Confocal Microscope Olympus FV1200
5. Nanosight NS 500