Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Biophysics

Scientific research activity

The scientific and research activity is focused to several areas:

• Study of the influence of growth conditions on content of medicinal and biologically active substances in mushrooms of genus Cordyceps (Fr.) Link.
• Study of the antioxidative and antimicrobial activity of extracts from different types of mushrooms.
• Determination of the content of additives (preservatives, artificial sweeteners and dyes) in pharmaceutical products.
• Green synthesis and determination of antioxidant activity of silver and gold nanoparticles with antimicrobial and antiproliferative effects.
• Synthesis (conventional and mechanochemical) and characterization of derivatives of natural substances with anticancer potential, study of the structure – biological efficiency relationship.
• Metabolomic profiling of biological fluids (blood, urine) in diagnostics of oncological and metabolic diseases (gout, celiakia, diabetes mellitus,…).
• Preparation of coordination compounds with antiproliferative effects.
• Metabolomic profiling of biological fluids (blood, urine) by using of HPLC with the aim to detect tryptophan and tyrosine metabolites in physiological conditions and in the case of expected change in endogenous metabolite concentration in Lyme borreliosis.
• Analysis of special proteins and peptides in urine of patients in different stages of Lyme borreliosis and the diagnostic test based on DNA microarray for simultaneous detection of more arboviruses in one experiment.
• Isolation of lipopeptides produced by bacteria Bacillus and their qualitative analysis using HPLC.
• Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles.
• Study of properties of nanoporous silica-based systems as drug carriers.
• Study of antioxidative enzyme system and its changes caused by some xenobiotics (heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals).
• Changes in food properties as consequence of Maillard reactions.
• Proteolytic enzymes, some oxidoreductases and peptide growth factors at the level of the basic research as well as in diagnostic practice.
• Isolation of peptidases from maggots of housefly and common green bottle fly used in larval therapy.
• Urine metabolomics for cancer diagnostics.
• Study of the interactions of antiviral and anticancer agents and their derivatives with important biological molecules and transport systems.
• Study of the interaction of some pesticides and repellents with biomacromolecules (DNA, albumin).
• Preparation and characterization of coordination compounds of some transition metals with biologically active ligands.

Projects:

• Open scientific community for modern interdisciplinary research in medicine (OPENMED)
  Operational Programme: Integrated Infrastructure. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (head of project Prof. Juraj Pistl, DVM, PhD.)
• APVV-18-0259: Strategic development of therapeutic agents against neuroinfections caused by vector-borne pathogens (head of project Assoc. Prof. Mangesh Bhide, DVM, PhD.)
• APVV-20-0512: Advanced superparamagnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications (head of project Assoc. Prof. Adriana Zeleňáková, RNDr., PhD. – Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Assoc. Prof. Alexander Hudák, RNDr., PhD. – UVMP)
• APVV-20-0184: Composite biomaterials with complex natural additives (head of project Ing. Ľubomír Medvecký, PhD. – Institute of Materials Research, SAS, Peter Očenáš, RNDr., PhD. – UVMP)
• VEGA 1/0355/19: Influence of zinc and probiotic bacteria on intestinal helmints in poultry (head of project Prof. Mikuláš Levkut, DVM, D.Sc.)
• VEGA 1/0148/19: Complexes of platinum metals with planar aromatic nuclei as antitumor drugs (head of project Assoc. Prof. Ivan Potočňák, RNDr., PhD. – Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Lucia Váhovská, RNDr. PhD. – UVMP)
• VEGA 1/0557/20: The lifetime of singlet oxygen in cells: a pathway to increased efficacy of photodynamic therapy for cancer (head of project Assoc. Prof. Gregor Bánó, Mgr., PhD. – Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Alena Strejčková, RNDr., PhD. – UVMP)
• VEGA 1/0156/21: Application of multiple factor analysis to qualitative and quantitative indicators of produced wine to achieve decrease of biogenic amine content (head of project Boris Semjon, DVM, PhD.)
• VEGA 1/0166/21: Effect of combined exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides and azole antifungal agents on selected species of non-target organisms (head of project Viera Schwarzbacherová, DVM, PhD.)
• VEGA 1/0071/21: The monitoring of selected lichen metabolites on the angiogenesis, tumor cell proliferation and pathogenic yeast growth (head of project Miriam Bačkorová, RNDr., PhD.)
• VEGA 2/0112/22: High-energy grinding of egg waste based on calcite and selected plants for the preparation of nanocrystalline minerals and environmental applications (head of project Matej Baláž, RNDr., PhD. – Institute of Geotechnics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, RNDr. Aneta Salayová, PhD. – UVMP)
• VEGA 1/0372/22: The use of beneficial microorganisms and their bioactive products in the elimination of skin biofilm infections. (head of project Eva Styková, DVM, PhD.)
• VEGA 1/0454/22: Study of the possibilities of using humic substances in combination with autochthonous probiotic bee lactobacilli to improve the health of honeybees and the quality of bee products (head of project Assoc. Prof. Dagmar Mudroňová, DVM, PhD.)
• KEGA 015UVLF-4/2022: Innovation of Clinical and Pathological Biochemistry in study programme Pharmacy (head of project Marcela Valko-Rokytovská, RNDr., PhD.)