The aims are the syntheses of new potential cryoprotective materials and studies of their properties on cells in the freezing and thawing process. Considering the different effects of these compounds in intracellular and extracellular environments, their physical and biological effects are evaluated by a number of instrumental methods (flow cytometry, XRD, DSC, Raman spectrometry, confocal microscopy, AFM and MS).
Based on the obtained results, important cryoprotective parameters are analyzed with respect to the structure and possible interactions of cryoprotectants with water, which influence, for example, membrane and chromatin stability, crystal morphology and the state of cellular dehydration during the freezing process.
Further, we investigate the possible influence of materials on DNA structural defects with the aim to reveal their genetic or epigenetic background during DNA replication in the cell S-phase. The project is carried out by our group through the preparation of various types of substances by current methods of organic and analytical chemistry (NMR, MS) and testing their biological and biophysical properties in cooperation with the Department of Analysis of Functional Materials and several external research centres (Masaryk University Brno, Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, CEITEC, BIOCEV).
