Vladimir Djokovic
University of Belgrade, Serbia
Title: Hybrid nanostructures of inorganic particles and biomolecules: Fabrication, antimicrobial activity and application in deep-UV imaging of live cells
Biography
Biography: Vladimir Djokovic
Abstract
Hybrid nanostructures that comprise inorganic nanoparticles (noble metals, semiconductors) and biomolecules received a considerable attention in last decades due to a number of interesting fundamental properties as well as a wide range of possible applications. Here, we present the results on two types of hybrid structures: noble metal (Ag, Au) nanoparticles functionalized with small biological molecules (tryptophan, riboflavin) and ZnO‑biomacromolecule (cellulose, alginate) hybrids. The obtained materials were studied in detail by microscopic (TEM, SEM) and optical (PL and UV‑vis) techniques. The antimicrobial activity of the ZnO-, Ag- and ZnO/Ag-biomolecule hybrids was tested against the Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans pathogens. Silver nanoparticles functionalized with amino acid tryptophan and gold nanoparticles bi-functionalized with tryptophan and riboflavin were tested as fluorescent probes for deep-UV (DUV) imaging of microbial and cancer cells. DUV imaging was performed on DISCO beam line of synchrotron SOEIL, France. ZnO-biomacromolecule hybrids exhibit other interesting properties such as ability to immobilize antibodies, catalytic activity and a strong CO2 absorption, which will also be presented.