Fluorescent nanodiamonds are biocompatible nanoparticles with almost unlimited photostable fluorescence. The nanoparticles are widely used in biomedicine and diagnostics and they represent a new platform for the construction of nanosensors and biosensors. Various direct surface modifications have been described recently, however, the surface chemistry and the construction of sophisticated molecular structures on a nanodiamond surface are only currently developing.

The thesis will be focused on the preparation and physical-chemical study of new nanoparticles based on fluorescent nanodiamonds. Mainly, the following topics will be addressed:

• preparation of monodisperse fluorescent nanodiamonds with hydrophobic monolayers and lipid bilayers
• search for the optimum conditions for dynamical modification of these layers with lipophilic ligands
• nanodiamond modification with biocompatible copolymers: poly(hydroxypropyl)methacrylamides and polyoxazolines
• new conjugation processes allowing the attachement of biomolecules on nanodiamonds: oxime ligation and "click" reaction (azid-alkyn cykloadition) without Cu(I) catalysis.
• fluorescence study of nanodiamonds modified by new architectures
• analysis of physical-chemical properties of nanodiamonds by quasielastic light scattering, zeta potential, transmission electronic microscopy, gel permeation chromatography and other methods.

The research will be conducted in Synthetic Nanochemistry Research Group at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, AS CR, v.v.i.

To apply please send your CV to petr.cigler@uochb.cas.cz