Laboratory of Molecular Film Investigation (LMFI)

  • Laboratory leader: dr Paweł Borowicz
  • Name: Laboratory of Molecular Film Investigation (LMFI)

The mission of Laboratory of Molecular Film Investigation (LMFI) is to investigate molecular film by means of non-destructive experimental techniques. The characterization is performed with spectroscopic or imaging methods. The Laboratory is equipped with apparatus which enables measurements in wide spectral range, in particular: from ultraviolet (UV) to middle infrared (MIR).
LMFI is equipped with following apparatus:

  • Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer working in MIR spectral range;
  • Spectroscopic Ellipsometer covering spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR);
  • Brewster Angle Microscope (BAM) conjugated with Langmuir-Blodgett Trough (LB Trough).
  • The analysis of vibrational spectra includes simulation of vibrations active in infrared and / or Raman scattering. Theoretical spectra are calculated with Density Functional Theory (DFT) method.

Members

  • dr Paweł Borowicz

Contact

dr Paweł Borowicz

Laboratory: room 120 building 7A tel. +48 22 343 2147

Office: room 19 building 7A tel. +48 22 343 2094

e-mail: pborowicz@ichf.edu.pl

Research

Research carried out in Laboratory of Molecular Films Investigation are mainly related to the activity of following research groups

The main object of interest of this research groups ZB 02 and ZB 18 are polymer films. These films are obtained mainly by means of electro-polymerization process. This types of films plays an important role in the detection of vestigial amounts of substances which can be traces of toxins in food, blasting materials or carcinogenic agents.

Cooperation with Laboratory of Surface Analysis is related to study of Ti surface modification and its influence on bones mineralization process. This kind of study is important for applications in otorhinolaryngology.

An example of application of research capabilities of LMFI is the determination of the way of imprinting of detected substance into the film by means of vibrational (IR) spectroscopy. The results of investigation performed in LMFI contributed to following papers:

2015

M. Cieplak, K. Szwabinska, M. Sosnowska, C. Bikram K.C., P. Borowicz, K. Noworyta, F. D’Souza, W Kutner, Selective electrochemical sensing of human serum albumin by semi-covalent molecular imprinting, Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2015, 74, 960–966

2016

T.-P. Huynh, A. Wojnarowicz, A. Kelm, P. Woznicki, P. Borowicz, A. Majka, F. D’Souza, and W. Kutner, Chemosensor for Selective Determination of 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol Using a Custom Designed Imprinted Polymer Recognition Unit Cross-Linked to a Fluorophore Transducer, ACS Sensors 2016, 1, 636−639

A. Wojnarowicz, P. S. Sharma, M. Sosnowska, W. Lisowski, T.-P. Huynh, M. Pszona, P. Borowicz, F. D'Souza, W. Kutner, An electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer for selective carnosine sensing with impedimetric capacity, J. Mater. Chem. B 2016, 4, 1156–1165

2017

Z. Iskierko, A. Checinska, P. S. Sharma, K. Golebiewska, K. Noworyta, P. Borowicz, K. Fronc, V. Bandi, F. D’Souza and W. Kutner, Molecularly imprinted polymer based extended-gate field-effect transistor chemosensors for phenylalanine enantioselective sensing, J. Mater. Chem. C 2017, 5, 969–977

M. Dabrowski, M. Cieplak, P. S. Sharma, P. Borowicz, K. Noworyta, W. Lisowski, F. D'Suoza, A. Kuhn W. Kutner, Hierarchical templating in deposition of semi-covalently imprinted inverse opal polythiophene film for femtomolar determination of human serum albumin, Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2017, 94, 155–161

K. Łępicka, P. Pieta, A. Shkurenko, P. Borowicz, M. Majewska, M. Rosenkranz, S. Avdoshenko, A. A. Popov and W. Kutner, Spectroelectrochemical Approaches to Mechanistic Aspects of Charge Transport in meso-Nickel(II) Schiff Base Electrochromic Polymer, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2017, 121, 16710−16720

2018

D. Kuczyńska, P. Kwaśniak, M. Pisarek, P. Borowicz, H. Garbacz, Influence of surface pattern on the biological properties of Ti grade 2. Materials Characterization 2018, 135, 337–347

P. S. Sharma, Z. Iskierko, K. Noworyta, M. Cieplak, P. Borowicz, W. Lisowski, F. D'Souza, W. Kutner, Synthesis and application of a “plastic antibody” in electrochemical microfluidic platform for oxytocin determination. Biosensors & Bioelectronics 2018, 100, 251–258

2019

K. Bartold, A. Pietrzyk-Le, W. Lisowski, K. Golebiewska, A. Siklitskaya, P. Borowicz, S. Shao, F. D'Souza, W. Kutner, Promoting bioanalytical concepts in genetics: A TATA box molecularly imprinted polymer as a small isolated fragment of the DNA damage repairing system, Materials Science & Engineering C 2019, 100, 1–10

Z. Iskierko, P. S. Sharma, K. R. Noworyta, P. Borowicz, M. Cieplak, W. Kutner, and A. M. Bossi, Selective PQQPFPQQ Gluten Epitope Chemical Sensor with a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Recognition Unit and an Extended-Gate Field-Effect Transistor Transduction Unit, Anal. Chem. 2019, 91, 4537−4543

D. Zembrzuska, J. Kalecki, M. Cieplak, W. Lisowski, P. Borowicz, Kr. Noworyta, P. S. Sharma, Electrochemically initiated co-polymerization of monomers of different oxidation potentials for molecular imprinting of electroactive analyte, Sensors & Actuators: B. Chemical 2019, 298, 126884

B Lesiak, N. Rangam, P. Jiricek, I. Gordeev, J. Tóth, L. Kövér, M. Mohai and P. Borowicz, Surface Study of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Functionalized With Biocompatible Adsorbed Molecules, Frontiers in Chemistry 2019, 7, 00642

2020

D. Kuczyńska-Zemła, E. Kijeńska-Gawrońska, M. Pisarek, P. Borowicz, W. Swieszkowski, H. Garbacz, Effect of laser functionalization of titanium on bioactivity and biological response, Applied Surface Science 2020, 525, 146492

M. Gajda, R. Rybakiewicz, M. Cieplak, T. Zołek, D. Maciejewska, E. Gilant, P. J. Rudzki, K.
Grab, A. Kutner, P. Borowicz, W. Kutner, K. R. Noworyta, Low-oxidation-potential thiophene-
carbazole monomers for electro-oxidative molecular imprinting: Selective chemosensing of
aripiprazole, Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2020, 169, 112589


A. Johnson Sudagar, P. Borowicz, M. Asztemborska, W. Kutner, K. R. Noworyta, Molecularly
Imprinted Polymer for Selective Electrosynthesis of Biphenols, ECS Meeting Abstracts 2020,
16 (MA2020-02), 1462-1462

2021

V. Ayerdurai, M. Cieplak, K. R. Noworyta, M. Gajda, A. Ziminska, M. Sosnowska, J.
Piechowska, P. Borowicz, W. Lisowski, S. Shao, F. D'Souza, W. Kutner, Electrochemical sensor
for selective tyramine determination, amplified by a molecularly imprinted polymer film,
Bioelectrochemistry 2021, 138, 107695


A. Johnson Sudagar, N. Venkatesh Rangam, A. Ruszczak, P. Borowicz, J. Tóth, L. Kövér, D.
Michałowska, M. Ł. Roszko, K. R. Noworyta, B. Lesiak, Valorization of Brewery Wastes for
the Synthesis of Silver Nanocomposites Containing Orthophosphate, Nanomaterials, 2021, 11,
2659


V. Ayerdurai, A. Garcia-Cruz, J. Piechowska, M. Cieplak, P. Borowicz, K. R. Noworyta, G.
Spolnik, W. Danikiewicz, W. Lisowski, A. Pietrzyk-Le, F. D’Souza, W. Kutner, and P. S.
Sharma, Selective Impedimetric Chemosensing of Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Aromatic Amine
in Pork by dsDNA-Mimicking Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Film-Coated Electrodes, Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2021, 69, 14689

2022

M.-H. Lee, C.-C. Lin, P.S. Sharma, J.L. Thomas, C.-Y. Lin, Z. Iskierko, P. Borowicz, C.-Y. Lin, W. Kutner, C.-H. Yang, H.-Y. Lin, Peptide Selection of MMP-1 for Electrochemical Sensing with Epitope-Imprinted Poly(TPARA-co-EDOT)s, Biosensors 2022, 12, 1018

N. Yasmeen, J. Kalecki, P. Borowicz, W. Kutner, and P. S. Sharma, Electrochemically Initiated
Synthesis of Polyacrylamide Microgels and Core-shell Particles, ACS Applied Polymer
Materials 2022, 4, 452–462


N. Venkatesh Rangam, A. Johnson Sudagar, A. Ruszczak, P. Borowicz, J. Tóth, L. Kövér, D.
Michałowska, M. Ł. Roszko, K. R. Noworyta, B. Lesiak, Valorizing the Unexplored Filtration
Waste of Brewing Industry for Green Silver Nanocomposite Synthesis, Nanomaterials 2022, 12,
442


K. Bartold, Z. Iskierko, P. Borowicz, K. Noworyta, C.-Y. Lin, J. Kalecki, P. S. Sharma, H.-Y.
Lin, W. Kutner, Molecularly imprinted polymer-based extended-gate field-effect transistor (EG-
FET) chemosensor for selective determination of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) protein,
Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2022, 208, 114203

K. Łępicka, P. S. Sharma, P. Borowicz, G. Francius, A. Walcarius, Get closer to the intrinsic properties of Ni2+ salen polymer semiconductors accessed by chain isolation inside silica nanochannels, Journal of Materials Chemistry C 2022, 10, 9287-9300

2023

M.-H. Lee , C.-C. Lin, W. Kutner, J. L. Thomas, C.-Y. Lin, Z. Iskierko, Y.-S. Ku, C.-Y. Lin, P. Borowicz, P. S. Sharma, Y.-W. Lan, C.-H. Yang, H.-Y. Lin, Peptide-imprinted conductive polymer on continuous monolayer molybdenum disulfide transferred electrodes for electrochemical sensing of Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 in lung cancer culture medium, Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X 2023, 13, 100258, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosx.2022.100258

P. Lach, A. Garcia-Cruz, F. Canfarotta, A. Groves, J. Kalecki, D. Korol, P Borowicz, K. Nikiforow, M. Cieplak, W. Kutner, S. A. Piletsky, P. S. Sharma, Electroactive molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles for selective glyphosate determination, Biosensors and Bioelectronics 2023, 236, 115381, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2023.115381

Apparatus

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer

Fourier Transform Infrared spectrophotometer Vertex 80 V (Bruker Inc., USA) enables measurements of IR spectra under low pressure. Working under pressure which do not exceed 10 mbar results in strong decrease of the concentration of gases which disturb IR measurements. The most important agents which negative influence IR spectra are: water vapor and carbon dioxide. Spectrometer enables following types of measurements:

  • absorption in KBr pellets, in liquids or in the case of drop-coated layer deposited on material non-absorbing in IR (adjustable angle of incidence);
  • Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) – spectrometer is equipped with Platinum ATR (Bruker);
  • Multiple-reflection Attenuated Total Reflectance (multi-ATR)– spectrometer is equipped with A537-A/Q Overhead ATR unit (Bruker);
  • Specular Reflectance with adjustable angle of incidence – spectrometer is equipped with specular reflectance accessory GS19650 (SPECAC, UK);
  • Polarization Modulation Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) – spectrometer is equipped with PMA50 module (Bruker).

Spectroscopic Ellipsometer

Spectroscopic Ellipsometer UVISEL (Horriba-Jobin Yvon, Japan-France) enables measurements of thin films in spectral range from 245 nm to 2100 nm. Following types of information can be obtained from ellipsometric study:

  • ellipsometric spectra: measurements of ellipsometric parameters as a function of wavelength (photon energy);
  • kinetic studies: measurement of ellipsometric parameters as a function of time for chosen wavelength;
  • standard transmission (absorbance) or reflectance spectra in single-beam configuration.

Software DeltaPsi 2 (Horriba-Jobin Yvon) enables the analysis of measured data on two levels, in particular: either with application of tables with values of optical constants (complex refractive index) or advanced option, it means with application of analytical function as a model of complex dielectric function (complex refractive index). Ellipsometer is also equipped with motorized stage which makes possible the movement of the sample with step equal to 1 µm or larger.

Brewster Angle Microscope and Langmuir-Blodgett Tough

Brewster Angle Microscope EP3-BAM (NFT – Nanofilm Technologie, Germany) enables thin film imaging with application of specular reflectance in visible (VIS) spectral range. The laser line λ = 532 nm is used as a light source. The irradiation / observation is performed under Brewster Angle with respect to the substrate. It results in minimization of reflection from the substrate. Spatial resolution of the microscope is equal to 2 µm.

Langmuir-Blodgett Tough BAM 601 (Nima Technology Ltd., UK), conjugated with Brewster Angle Microscope, enables study of the processes occurring during compression of the molecules places on the surface of liquid sub-phase. In standard case water is used as a sub-phase. LB Tough is used to determine thermodynamic parameters describing the compression process. Surface tension and potential are measured simultaneously with surface tension detector PS-4 (Nima Technology Ltd., UK) and surface potential detector 320C-H-CE (Trek Inc., USA), respectively. Conjugation of LB Tough and Brewster Angle Microscope enables imaging the temporal behavior of molecules deposited on the surface of liquid sub-phase during the whole process of molecular layer building. Another application of Langmuir-Blodgett Tough is the deposition of mono- or multi-layer on the surface of solid substrate, i.e. glass. The deposition is done with application of dipper D1L (Nima Technology Ltd., UK).

Pricing

Investigation ordered by research teams from Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS are performed without charges.

Outside orders

Since each type of object that can be studied in LMFI requires individual approach it is impossible to show detailed price list of all type of studies that are possible LMFI. Especially if the investigation should include the interpretation of the experimental data the time necessary for completing the task can vary from one object of study to another. Due to above described reasons the price of each task must be negotiated individually. The base for these negotiations are costs of one hour of operation of each apparatus. These costs are summarized in table below.

Costs of 1 hour operation - summary

  • FTIR spectrophotometer: 50 – 70 pln
  • Spectroscopic Ellipsometer: 80 – 100 pln
  • Langmuir-Blodgett Tough and Brewster Angle Microscope: 110 – 130 pln

See also