Our researcher awarded with the Prime Minister's award
Artur Kasprzak, Ph.D. Eng. from the Faculty of Chemistry was awarded for his doctoral dissertation entitled "Functional materials based on magnetic carbon nanocapsules - synthesis and application in nanomedicine, electrochemistry and heterogeneous catalysis".
Our researcher was appreciated for the development and description of a new and original method of functionalization of magnetic carbon nanocapsules with a magnetic core (mechanochemical method) and their application in several research areas such as medicine, electrochemical recognition, and heterogeneous catalysis.
– A significant limitation in the use of nanomaterials in medicine is their stability in suspension – points out Artur Kasprzak, Ph.D. Eng. – The method of functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles I developed ensures favorable, previously unattainable, stability of water suspension of magnetic carbon nanomaterials.
This denotes that the materials developed by our researcher can contribute to the development of innovative methods of cancer treatment or medical diagnostics, in particular by magnetic resonance or the detection of medically important proteins, including ceruloplasmin (diagnosis of Wilson's disease or cancer).
In the course of the dissertation, modified nanomaterials were also used as nanocatalysts, thanks to which higher productivity of chemical processes was achieved in comparison with currently used catalysts.
– I demonstrated the usefulness of the developed nanocatalysts using the example of the synthesis of biologically active chemical compounds, i.e. benzimidazoles – explains Kasprzak, Ph.D. Eng.
The researcher from the Warsaw University of Technology prepared his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of the university professor, Mariola Koszytkowska-Stawińska, PhD. Eng., and Magdalena Popławska, PhD. Eng.
The Prime Minister's awards are granted in three categories: outstanding doctoral dissertation, scientific achievement being the basis for conferring a postdoctoral degree, and achievement in the field of research activity, including artistic creation or implementation activity.