Thesis supervisor: Bálint Szabó
co-supervisor: Róbert Horváth
Location of studies (in Hungarian): HUN-REN Nanobiosensorics Laboratory Abbreviation of location of studies: H-REN
Description of the research topic:
"The aim of the doctoral thesis is to study the adhesion characteristics of living cells. A better understanding of cell adhesion can help in cancer research, can be applied in immunology and in the development of new drug targets. Using modern biophysical techniques, cell adhesion can be studied even at the level of individual cells. While label-free optical biosensors have high sensitivity and allow data to be recorded without the use of labelling molecules and with high throughput (up to thousands of individual cells at a time), using this technique we can only infer the adhesion force/energy indirectly. These instruments are very sensitive to refractive index changes in the ~100 nm environment of the sensor surface. They allow the study of the kinetics of molecular processes with good (ms-s) temporal resolution and enable biophysical modelling. In contrast, using a fluid force microscope (FluidFM), adhesion force and energy can be measured directly, but only on a single cell at a time. The FluidFM is a modified atomic force microscope with a microfluidic channel in its cantilever, in which the pressure can be controlled. Using vacuum, a cell or microbead can be attached to an aperture at the end of the console, while using overpressure it can be removed. The above methods have become increasingly important in modern biophysical and pharmaceutical research over the last few years. Their combined application opens up new avenues for a deeper understanding of the strength and dynamics of cell adhesion, in particular in the study of adhesion complexes.
The doctoral work carried out in the context of this topic will include the processing of relevant literature, the design and execution of scientific experiments, the processing and evaluation of the data obtained, and the publication of the results in scientific journals and conferences.
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Required language skills: English Further requirements: MSc in physics or biophysics
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