Medicinal and Chiroptical Spectroscopy Group
The Medicinal and Chiroptical Spectroscopy Group is a joint workplace of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry and the Institute of Physics and Measurement Technology at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague. It develops methods of chiroptical spectroscopy, including vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), fluorescence-detected circular dichroism (FDCD), and Raman optical activity (ROA).
These methods provide unique structural information about chiral molecules and molecular systems, including real biological fluids such as blood plasma and serum. The group also employs vibrational spectroscopy techniques (infrared absorption and Raman spectroscopy), quantum-chemical ab initio calculations, and statistical methods. The unique instrumentation available at the workplace enables comprehensive structural analysis of substances without limitations imposed by molecular weight.
| Head: |
prof. Ing. Vladimír SETNIČKA, Ph.D. |
| Members: |
Mgr. Alla Synytsya, Ph.D. Ing. Lucie Habartová, Ph.D. Ing. František Králík, Ph.D. prof. RNDr. Marie Urbanová, CSc. (ext.) prof. RNDr. Petr Bouř, CSc. DSc. |
| PhD Students: |
Ing. Markéta Fousková (obhájila 2024) Ing. Kateřina Králová(obhájila 2024) Ing. Kristýna Dobšíková (obhájila 2024) Ing. Ondřej Vrtělka (obhájil 2025) Ing. Jan Vališ (VS) Ing. Věra Schrenková (PB) Ing. Adam Sklenář (PB) |
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supervisors: VS = prof. Setnička, PB = prof. Bouř |
In particular, we focus on:
- The development of new methods for the clinical diagnosis of cancer (carcinoma of the pancreas, liver, colon), neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia) and metabolic diseases (type I and II diabetes) based on blood plasma or tissue analysis.
- The development of optical microprobes for in vivo diagnosis of cancer (e.g. lung cancer) via Raman spectroscopy.
- Structural studies of small- and medium-sized chiral molecules (absolute configuration and enantiomeric excess), biopolymers (conformational and binding studies of peptides, proteins, nucleic acids), supramolecular self-assembly products (associations of nucleobases and their metal complexes), and biological interaction-inspired systems (e.g. bioactive bile complexes).
- The study of the optical activity of drugs, counterfeit medicines, and cosmetic products leading to their detection and identification.
In addition, we closely cooperate with leading academic institutions (First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, Military University Hospital Prague, General University Hospital in Prague, Royal Vinohrady Teaching Hospital, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS) and industrial companies (e.g. Teva, Zentiva). Many of these cooperations are established within the frame of joint grant projects supported by the Czech Science Foundation, Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic etc.