Physics of Nanoparticles in Life Science Group

Submitted by moderator_US on Fri, 06/19/2020 - 10:55
University
University of Split
Faculty/school/department
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Split
Size of the team
number of researchers number of supporting staff number of PhD students
3
0
1
Composition of Joint Unit of Research, if relevant

Professor Ivica Aviani,  iaviani@pmfst.hr , experimental research in biophysics and nanomaterials

Assistant Lucija Krce, lkrce@pmfst.hr, experimental research in biophysics and nanomaterials

Postdoctoral researcher dr. Mislav Cvitković, mcvitkovi@pmfst.hr , modeling physical processes in cell membranes metabolism

PI
PI name
Ivica Aviani
PI email
iaviani@pmfst.hr
PI bio

Dr. Ivica Aviani is full professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Split and the head of the Department. He is an experimental physicist with experience in research of semiconductors and superionic conductors, strongly correlated electron systems, Kondo alloys, heavy fermions, valence fluctuating systems, bacterial growth and nanoparticles bactericidal properties. Dr. Aviani has many years’ experience in leading and conducting research projects and has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in research areas of condensed matter physics, material science, physics education and biophysics.

Personal website: http://mapmf.pmfst.hr/~iaviani/

Contact person and e-mail
Contact person
Ivica Aviani
Contact person e-mail
iaviani@pmfst.hr
Short description of research profile

Development of bacterial growth/inactivation models. Study of modes of antibacterial action of metallic nanoparticles through experimental probing and modelling. Characterization of nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy and spectroscopy of different cell types. Study of the transport of different membrane species within a membrane. Modeling and simulating membrane diffusion. Understanding an interplay between all the physical effects on the length and time scales of the living cell. 

Research area
NATURAL SCIENCES » Biological sciences » (DA) BIOPHYSICS
Scientific Themes (keywords)
Bacterial growth modeling
Metallic nanoparticles
Antibacterial activity
Nano-bio interactions
Atomic force microscopy
Publications

Representative publications

        L. Krce, M. Šprung, T. Rončević, A. Maravić, V. Čikeš Čulić, D. Blažeka, N. Krstulović, I. Aviani, Probing the Mode of Antibacterial Action of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Laser Ablation in Water : What Fluorescence and AFM Data Tell Us, Nanomaterials. 10(06) (2020) 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10061040.
L. Krce, M. Šprung, A. Maravić, P. Umek, K. Salamon, N. Krstulović, I. Aviani, Bacteria Exposed to Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Laser Ablation in Water: Modelling E. coli Growth and Inactivation, Materials (Basel). 13 (2020) 653. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030653
]         L. Krce, M. Šprung, A. Maravić, I. Aviani, A simple interaction-based E. coli growth model, Phys. Biol. 16 (2019) 066005.  https://doi.org/10.1088/1478-3975/ab3d51
T. Rončević, L. Krce, M. Gerdol, S. Pacor, M. Benincasa, F. Guida, I. Aviani, V. Čikeš-Čulić, A. Pallavicini, A. Maravić, A. Tossi, Membrane-active antimicrobial peptide identified in Rana arvalis by targeted DNA sequencing, Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Biomembr. 1861 (2019) 651–659.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2018.12.014
]         T. Bartossek, N.G. Jones, C. Schäfer, M. Cvitković, M. Glogger, H.R. Mott, J. Kuper, M. Brennich, M. Carrington, A.S. Smith, S. Fenz, C. Kisker, M. Engstler, Structural basis for the shielding function of the dynamic trypanosome variant surface glycoprotein coat, Nat. Microbiol. 2 (2017) 1523–1532.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-017-0013-6
Technology Expertise

Bruker – JPK NanoWizard® 4 atomic force microscope mounted on a Olympus  IX73 inverted fluorescence microscope

 Anton Paar Litesizer 500 particle size, zeta potential, and molecular mass analyzer