TSSP NatSci 2022 projects
The main component of the summer program is an active participation in the selected research projects offered by the staff members of the Nicolaus Copernicus University from Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Chemistry, and Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, please see the topics and their descriptions below. Interested students are welcome to contact possible advisors for more details concerning the foreseen projects and discuss the dates that the project could be undertaken.
Encapsulation of active ingredients for topical application
The project aims to search for new solutions in designing preparations for skin applications. The skin is a barrier that protects our body against various unfavorable external and environmental factors. The difficult penetration of active substances into the skin is still valid. The fabrication of microcapsule products to address challenges in active ingredients delivery has been of interest for decades. The commercial success of approved products is promising for producing novel controlled-release therapeutic products. We will use different methods and various biodegradable polymers for encapsulation to develop an array of controlled-release therapeutic products.
| Supervisor: | dr Justyna Kozłowska (justynak[at]umk.pl) |
| | Faculty of Chemistry |
| Internship period: | 3 - 30.07.2022 |
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Fabrication and characterization of novel cosmetics with graphene
Growth in the beauty industry, however, has boomed in recent years. Graphene has excellent antioxidant properties and thereby can be used as ingredient of cosmetics for personal care. Graphene has been already used in face mask sheets. However, its use in personal care products is novel.
Student will be acquainted with a knowledge related to the cosmetics. During the project Student will be committed to fabricate different forms of cosmetics with graphene addition and characterize them by several techniques. Moreover, Student will produce graphene from graphite by itself using wet exfoliation, which is regarded as a scalable method yielding graphene flakes of high quality and purity and low agglomeration. The project also includes the study of skin parameters before and after cosmetics application.
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Synthesis and characterization of graphene-based catalysts for water splitting technology
The Project will focus on the synthesis of catalysts for efficient electrolysis of water. The crucial element for water electrolysis is an efficient electrode design which enables a low split potential alongside high durability. The Project’s aim is the synthesis of such electrode materials and practical verification of their application-oriented features. The synthesis strategy will be established taking into account the variability of metal oxides. Important step is determine the relationship of morphology and elemental composition with the materials’ electrochemical activity, as well as their hydrogen evolution reaction activity in contact with aqueous electrolytes.
| Supervisor: | dr Anna Ilnicka (ailnicka[at]chem.umk.pl) |
| | Faculty of Chemistry |
| Internship period: | 3 - 30.07.2022 |
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Can "piranha" eat alumina foil? – chemical etching and material characterization of Al foil?
The aim of the work is to modify alumina foil via chemical etching with "piranha"*) activators. The next goal is to chemically modify the pre-treated materials. The characterization of the materials with the implementation of selected spectroscopic, microscopic, and analytical methods is foreseen. Finally, the correlation between the experimental condition of "piranha" etching and material features will be done.
*) "Piranha" activator is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide with sulfuric acid (so-called acidic “piranha”) or with ammonium hydroxide (so-called basic “piranha”). Because the either mixture is a strong oxidizing agent it will hydroxylate most surfaces, by adding –OH groups and making them highly hydrophilic.
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Synthesis and application of new deep eutectic solvents in the transport and separation of Cd(II), Zn(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) ions through polymer inclusion membranes
One of the intensively developing directions of research is the application of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) for recovery and/or separation of metal ions from aqueous solutions. PIMs are obtained by slow evaporation of a volatile organic solvent from a solution containing: a polymer, carrier, and plasticizer. The carrier binds to the substance present in the feed solution and enables (or facilitate) the transport through the membrane. One of the new research directions is the application of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as carriers in PIM. DESs are a new class of safe, efficient, simple, and low–cost solvents characterized by significant depressions in melting points compared to those of the neat constituent components. Due to their properties, they can also be called "green solvents".
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Investigation of driving force effect on water transport in forward osmosis (FO)
Transport through the membrane in FO occurs owing to osmotic pressure difference between both sides of the membrane. Research project concerns determination of FO process efficiency depending on process driving force. The process driving force will be created applying various draw solution composition and concentration. Moreover, surface properties of the tested membranes will be determined applying goniometric method.
| Supervisor: | dr Anna Kujawska (akujawska[at]umk.pl) |
| | Faculty of Chemistry |
| Internship period: | 3 - 30.07.2022 |
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Swelling of biopolymeric films – a feature that mimics the nature
Chitosan hydrogels are three-dimensional, crosslinked hydrophilic polymeric networks that do not dissolve in water but bind significant amounts of different fluids and exhibit swelling properties at physiological conditions (pH and temperature). As neat chitosan (Ch) hydrogels do not present desirable physical properties, like tensile strength and elasticity, a new class of plasticizers will be applied in the current project. In the ongoing project, we propose to use a series of novel groups of plasticizers: natural-based and biodegradable deep eutectic solvents (DESs). From the series of the different DESs only those that simultaneously act as chitosan crosslinkers, preventing chitosan dissolution in acidic media and water, will be chosen for the swelling studies.
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Assessment of new polymeric films as potential biodegradable packaging materials
Packaging materials, in particular the ones that come into contact with food, have to meet a significant number of requirements. One of the most important is the extension of the products’ shelf life and protection against bacteria and fungi. In an aim to obtain antibacterial packaging materials, different compounds, such as flavonoids, are being introduced into polymer matrices. Many additives used in articles intended for contact with food are assigned specific migration limit requirements. For this reason, the release kinetics of the active compound in different food simulants as well as food storage analyses (for example weight loss and firmness of blueberries) have to be performed. It has to be stressed that simulants are food substitutes which reflect the properties of the foodstuffs which will eventually come into contact with the product or a particular component. The most popular food simulants include 10 and 95% ethanol, acetic acid, and isooctane.
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The effects of pigmentation on hypoxia and oxidative stress in melanoma cell lines
Melanoma, originating from melanocytes, is the most aggressive skin tumor, with continuously increasing incidence rate. Melanocytes produce melanin, which is a chromophore able to absorb ultraviolet light and scavenge the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protecting DNA. Oxidative stress is involved in the pathophysiological pathways of several chronic diseases and in the transformation and progression of many cancers, including melanoma. In melanoma cells, melanin synthesis itself is a source of ROS and oxidative stress because of malformed melanosomes and melanin synthesis disruption. Thus, melanin can act as pro-oxidant molecule contributing to melanoma genesis.
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Genome-mining – potential of actinomycetes for application in medicine and biotechnology
Student will work on whole genomes of actinobacteria to search biosynthetic gene clusters responsible for synthesis of beneficial bioactive compounds with antimicrobial, antitumor, antiviral, antiparasitic properties, and many more. Analyses of stress related genes will be also carried out. Prosperous actinomycete strains will be selected for in vitro analyses using different methods and techniques against pathogenic bacteria and fungi known to be responsible for human infections. Strains will be analysed for tolerance to harsh environmental conditions in relation to observed corresponding genes. Based on the genome analyses student will also identify tested actinomycetes and perform phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses.
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What are the energetic costs of growth under salinity stress?
The project purpose is to evaluate the following hypotheses: (1) Salinity act on the cellular concentration of the energy currencies in cell; (2) Plants growing under higher soil salinity produce more energy (ATP and/or PPi) as an adaptation to the extreme environment; (3) ATP and/or PPi concentration is higher in roots than in leaves, (4) Parental salinity contribute to the higher ATP/ PPi production for population comes from higher parental salinity. The halophyte sea aster Tripolium pannonicum will be an experimental plant in our studies. Pyrophosphate (PPi) alongside ATP, is an essential integrator of metabolism and stress tolerance. Parental effects affect adaptation of plant to parental condition, conferring a better fitness and growth advantage for plant growing under parental salinity.
| Supervisor: | dr Agnieszka Ludwiczak (agnieszka.lud[at]umk.pl) |
| | Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences |
| Internship period: | 3 - 30.07.2022 |
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Assessment of quantitative and qualitative resources of small water reservoirs on the example of the city of Toruń in the light of climate change
The aim of the project is to acquire the ability to conduct environmental analyzes and studies of small water reservoirs. The research will be carried out on selected water reservoirs (up to 7) located in different parts of Toruń. The research includes field work (water intake and measurements of selected physicochemical parameters of water), laboratory analyzes of water samples, as well as statistical analysis of meteorological conditions. Water quality analyzes will be performed in the laboratory with the support of employees of the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management. The obtained results will make it possible to assess the trophic state of the reservoirs, which is crucial for determining the suitability of water resources and their use for various purposes. The proposed solutions can be used to compare genetically similar reservoirs under city pressure in other climatic zones.
| Supervisor: | dr Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka (kubiak[at]umk.pl) |
| | Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management |
| Internship period: | 3 - 30.07.2022 |
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Expanding and supplementing the current state of knowledge on erratic boulders within the city limits of Toruń
- verification and expansion of the database of erratic boulders deposited in the urban space of Toruń,
- locating, positioning using a GPS receiver and sizing erratic boulders,
- performing basic measurements such as: length, width, height above ground level and perimeter,
- photographic documentation,
- identification of petrographic group of the studied object,
- compilation of geobase of studied objects with the use of available GIS software.
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Land cover and landscape structure changes of Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve
The project concerns the analysis of land cover changes in the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve based on available multi-temporal spatial data, both vector (Corine Land Cover from 1990–2018) and raster (Landsat and Sentinel satellite images). Based on the spatial data from the last 30 years, selected landscape metrics will be calculated, including indices of size and size of patches, indices of edges, indices of shape and diversity. The calculated indices will allow to determine the structure of the landscape and its changes over time. The project may be continued as a PhD project.
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Sources of artificial light pollution of the night sky in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province
The project concerns an inventory of sources of artificial light pollution of the night sky for the area of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Province. The sources of light smog will be inventoried on the basis of night satellite imageries and databases of topographic objects. Based on the collected spatial data and the analyzes, the dynamics of changes in the light pollution of the night sky will be determined. The project may be continued as a PhD project.
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