I will give a description of topological and non-topological solitons in condensed matter systems such as magnetic materials and Bose-Einstein condensates of atoms or of exciton-polaritons in semiconductors. The main focus will be on vortices in films, that is, swirling configurations which are stable localised structures with particle-like properties. Vortices appear not only in fluids but also
in superfluids (quantised vortices), in magnetic materials (magnetic vortices) and indeed across condensed matter.
Magnetic vortices are structures of the magnetisation of the atomic crystal and they have sizes down to 10nm. Their stability and
robustness is often due to their topological properties. Static vortices can be used for the storing of information (e.g., in magnetic media). Their dynamics can be used to produce oscillators at the nanoscopic scale, to transfer information, or construct logic gates.
In the last decade it was realised that a class of magnetic materials with a crystal structure which lacks certain symmetries, can support
so-called skyrmions (a type of vortices) and these may even form the ground state of the system. We study a model for such materials and
give a description of their unusual dynamical properties, that is, their motion under the influence of an external field or an electrical
current.
Time:
12:00
Location:
“Seminar Room 1”, FORTH’s bldg
Description:
IMBB SEMINAR
Ewa CHROSTEK
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology
Department Vector Biology
Title: "Wolbachia: a mutualistic and pathogenic symbiont of Drosophila melanogaster".
Although there is a great effort to synthesize effective hydrogels, clinical applications of smart hydrogels have been limited. It seems that it is necessary to develop novel hydrogels that meet the requirements of specific applications, rather than finding applications of newly developed hydrogels. Furthermore, it is necessary to develop smarter hydrogels that can mimic natural systems.
By combining precise synthesis with multifunctional materials, we have synthesized a smart hydrogel that delivers drugs selectively to cancer cells. The macromolecular architecture as well as the molecular characteristics of each block along with the materials used, were carefully optimized in order to result a hydrogel that has an inherent property to fight pancreatic cancer. The polymeric material that forms the hydrogel is a fully peptidic polymer. The polymer has the appropriate macromolecular architecture to form strong physical hydrogels. The main component of the smart hydrogel is the multifunctional material poly(L-histidine), which is pH- and temperature responsive. After a long time research, we fine-tuned the molecular characteristics and the chemical nature to result a hydrogel with the following properties:
1. Physically forming
2. In situ forming
3. Self-healing within 5 seconds
4. Injectable
5. pH-responsive between the healthy and cancer tissue pH values
6. Temperature-responsive within healthy and cancer tissue temperatures
7. Exhibits buffering capacity
8. Last in vivo for more than two weeks
9. Non-cytotoxic for more than 400 mg/Kg, according to NCI standards
10. Biodegradable
11. The self-organization is based to the 3D structure of
polypeptides, not to the solubility transition 12. Strongly adhere to tissues in order to remain at the initial position after
These properties resulted to a polymer that has the inherent property to form an impressive hydrogel that delivers directionally and selectively gemcitabine towards the cancer tissue rather healthy tissue, in a controlled and sustained manner.
Time:
12:00
Location:
“Seminar Room 1”, FORTH’s bldg
Description:
IMBB BIOINFORMATICS SEMINAR
Manolis DIALYNAS
IMBB - Bioinformatics Support Group
Title: "Bioinformatics tools and resources for identifying gene product function".
Medical devices such as catheters and tubing are required to deliver increased functionality, lower profiles, and smaller size.
Next-generation tubes and catheters are also being designed to transport target-specific drug-polymer payloads or flexible microelectronic packages to various parts of the human body. These enhanced miniaturization and functionality requirements of medical devices are also creating substantial design and manufacturability challenges. One of these challenges is to provide proper coating that vary in lubricity and texture to meet the requirements of the specific medical device tubing or catheter. On one hand the coating should strongly adhere to the hydrophobic substrate and on the other hand provide proper lubricity in the hydrophilic environment in human cavities. Common requirements from the coating are low friction, high lubricity, shear resistance, non-degradability, biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity and little change in properties over time. In addition coating thickness should be as small as possible (in the micron range) and uniform over the entire device. Here we describe the coating process of a crosslinked-polymer based coating showing a gradient of hydrophilicity from hydrophobic near the device surface to provide proper adhesion, to highly hydrophilic at the opposing surface in contact with the tissue, to provide the necessary lubricity.
Time:
09:00
Location:
Αίθουσα Σεμιναρίων 307, Τμήμα Χημείας, Πανεπιστήμιο Κρή
Description:
Η Αντισέλ σε συνεργασία με το Εργαστήριο Περιβαλλοντικών Χημικών Διεργασιών του τμήματος Χημείας του Παν/μιου Κρήτης και την PerkinElmer, με χαρά σας προσκαλούν σε ημερίδα με θέμα:
ΑΝΑΛΥΣΗ ΝΑΝΟΣΩΜΑΤΙΔΙΩΝ, ΝΕΕΣ ΠΡΟΣΕΓΓΙΣΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΦΑΡΜΟΓΕΣ
Η ημερίδα θα λάβει χώρα στο Ηράκλειο Κρήτης την Τρίτη 24 Νοεμβρίου και στην Αθήνα την Τετάρτη 25 Νοεμβρίου 2015.
Ενότητα ΙΙ
• Ασφαλής χρήση χημικών
Γιάννης Λαμπράκης, Ινστιτούτο Ηλεκτρονικής Δομής και Λέιζερ
Ενότητα ΙΙΙ
• Θέματα ασφαλείας σε πειράματα με ζωντανούς οργανισμούς
Χαράλαμπος Σπηλιανάκης, Συνεργαζόμενος Ερευνητής Μέλος ΔΕΠ ΙΜΒΒ
Κώστας Κουρουνιώτης, Κτηνίατρος, Μονάδα Πειραματόζωων ΙΜΒΒ
Time:
11:00 - 13:30
Description:
SEMINAR: LABORATORY SAFETY
IN ENGLISH
30 November 2015 @ 11.00-13.30
SEMINAR ROOM 1 – FORTH MAIN BUILDING
IMBB-FORTH organizes the 2nd Seminar on Laboratory Safety on 30/11/2015, 11.00-13.30, in Seminar Room 1, FORTH main building. The seminar will be in ENGLISH.
Attendance is OBLIGATORY for all ΙΜΒΒ staff, post-doctoral researchers and pre- and post-graduate students, who have not previously attended previous versions of the Safety Seminar, working in all IMBB locations (laboratories at FORTH, Biology Department and Medical School).
REGISTRATION
Register at http://goo.gl/forms/WQPEJmtY2E
You will then receive a Certificate of Attendance. There will be no registration at the seminar, but you will have to sign an attendance sheet. Registration closes at 24:00, 29 November 2015.
2nd Seminar - Program
Unit I
• Laboratory safety: general aspects
Inga Siden-Kiamos, Senior Staff Scientist, IMBB
Unit II
• Safe use of chemicals. Chemical waste
Yannis Labrakis, ETE, IESL
Unit ΙΙΙ
• Biosafety
Charalampos Spilianaki, Assistant Professor, University of Crete
The application of inorganic nanocrystals (NCs) in catalysis has attached a great deal of attention over the last years. The use of these nanomaterials offers several advantages, such as unusual (photo)catalytic properties and high surface-area-to-volume ratio.Unfortunately, implementation of such nanomaterials, especially in catalysis and absorption, is not easy, as it often entails a strong tendency of NCs to form large agglomerates with irregular structureand limited porosity. In this context, new strategies to access NC-based porous networks with accessible porosity at the nanometer scale are necessary.
In this presentation we demonstrate that ordered 3D mesoporous networks, which comprise well-defined interconnected metal oxide or metal sulfide NCs, can be prepared through a polymer-templated aggregating assembly of ligand-stabilized nanoparticles.This method involves assembly of soluble nanobuilding blocks into various mesoscopic structures with the aid of amphiphilic surfactants or block copolymers.We have chosen to explore the assembly of BiFeO3, γ-Fe2O3 and CdS mesostructures because of their ensuing magnetic, electronicand photocatalytic properties. The resulting self-assembled materials that obtained after template removal impart the unique combination of catalytic activity of inorganic NCs and3D open-pore structure, high surface area and uniform pores of mesoporous structure. We show that the pore surface of these materials is active and accessible to incoming molecules, exhibiting high catalytic activity and stability, for instance, in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol into 4-aminophenol, and selective reduction of aryl and alkyl nitro compounds with methyl hydrazine. We demonstrate through appropriate selection of the synthetic components that our method is general to prepare ordered 3D mesoporous networks from inorganic NCs with various sizes and compositions.
Time:
12:00
Location:
“Seminar Room 1”, FORTH’s bldg
Description:
IMBB BIOINFORMATICS SEMINAR
Giorgio PAPADOPOULOS
IMBB - Bioinformatics Support Group