Scientific research
----
Scientific research, conducted in the Laboratory of Luminescence Research, concerns experimental and theoretical aspects of modern organic physicochemistry - mainly related to light emission processes and their applications. The main purpose of the research carried out in there is the design and synthesis of new organic compounds capable of luminescence (especially – chemiluminescence, fluorescence and bioluminescence), thorough investigations of their physicochemical properties, including the determination of the emissivity and the methods of its generation in the system. A separate field is research on the compounds of this type that can be used in luminescence biomedical analytics, e.g. serology, where antigen-antibody reactions are employed. This latter line of research is conducted in cooperation with other laboratories (microbiological). In modern biomedical tests, ready-made solutions are mainly applied, usually based on typical UV-Vis spectroscopy and less often on measurements fluorescence (FL), chemiluminescence (CL) and/or bioluminescence (BL). Methods of this type, called in general luminescent ones, due to their high sensitivity, wide possibilities of applications, and simplicity of use, are intensively developed in laboratories around the world - both scientific and commercial. The CL and FL processes, intensively researched in our group, make also the basis of scientific congresses of international societies, established to investigate these issues form theoretical and practical point of views.
As for the study of the mechanisms of reactions, which are accompanied by the emission of light (generally referred as luminogenic), the methods employed in our Laboratory employes advanced computational chemistry approaches, including time-resolved methods, based on Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT). They not only allow us to understand the mechanism of such processes, but also help to plan the construction of new luminogenic substrates expressing favourable physicochemical parameters, such as optimal kinetics and emission efficiency, thermodynamic stability and others.
Related to the last topic are recent studies in the Laboratory, concerning the determination of the antioxidant properties of important biological substances present in living matter using luminescent methods. They are, due to their generally high sensitivity, competitive in compare to most existing solutions and use original substrates capable of CL emission, belonging to a family of acridinium salts. The results of the investigations on the luminescence processes gathered in our group, have been published in renowned scienticfic journals in the field of organic physicochemistry and bioanalytics, and several practical solutions in this field were the subject of granted patents (see the section “publications”)
The following areas of research are developed in the Laboratory:
• Luminescence of organic compounds
− Synthesis of new luminescent heterocyclic compounds (FL, CL/BL)
− Emission spectroscopy of organic compounds: luminescence measurements using various types of modern equipment
− Biomedical immunodiagnostics - development and use of indicators and luminescent markers
− Research on the antioxidant capacity and quantitative analysis of biological compounds using emission methods (CL, FL).
− Synthesis of new luminescent heterocyclic compounds (FL, CL/BL)
− Emission spectroscopy of organic compounds: luminescence measurements using various types of modern equipment
− Biomedical immunodiagnostics - development and use of indicators and luminescent markers
− Research on the antioxidant capacity and quantitative analysis of biological compounds using emission methods (CL, FL).
• Computational methods in the study of the structure and reaction mechanisms (DFT, TD-DFT, MP2).
• Spectroscopic structural and physicochemical studies
− Research using NMR, UV-VIS, IR absorption spectroscopy methods, mass spectrometry (MS, LC-MS)
− Structure-property correlations.
− Research using NMR, UV-VIS, IR absorption spectroscopy methods, mass spectrometry (MS, LC-MS)
− Structure-property correlations.
• Chromatographic techniques
− Analysis of biologically active compounds and pharmaceuticals: HPLC chromatography with UV-Vis and fluorescence detection, elements of statistical analysis
− Application of classical chromatography methods (LC, TLC) in organic preparation
− Application of automated flash and semi-preparative chromatography in organic synthesis.
− Analysis of biologically active compounds and pharmaceuticals: HPLC chromatography with UV-Vis and fluorescence detection, elements of statistical analysis
− Application of classical chromatography methods (LC, TLC) in organic preparation
− Application of automated flash and semi-preparative chromatography in organic synthesis.
• Thermal analysis utilizing TG, TG-MS and DSC techniques.