Bio: Dr. Mráček is a professor of Materials Engineering in the Department of Physics at Tomas Bata University in Zlin (Czech Republic). He is currently involved in the development of new polymeric and biopolymeric materials for biological applications and focuses mainly on the physics of material surfaces. Much of the work in his lab surrounds the preparation of hierarchical surfaces and their effect on interactions with other materials and cells. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry and Technology, also from Tomas Bata University, investigating “Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Biopolymers Dissolution”. Prior to this, he graduated in Chemical Physics and Biophysics at Palacký University in Olomouc, Department of Experimental Physics (Czech Republic).
Abstract: In this seminar, I will discuss different types of polymer surfaces and their preparation with respect to potential biological applications. The interaction of material surfaces with the environment is not only determined by its chemical composition, but also by the structure or morphology of the surface. Is it possible to prepare specific surfaces that can influence cell behaviour? How can a physicist or materials engineer be useful for biologists? What surfaces can we find in nature and how we can be inspired by them to develop materials in the laboratory? In particular, the seminar will cover material surfaces composed of polycaprolactone, hyaluronic acid, and polystyrene.
