Biophysics on Faculty of Science of MU is focused on two basic topics: physical principles that govern basic biological processes and an influence of physical factors on organisms and their constituents. Special attention is given to the study of conformations and chemical properties of nucleic acids and proteins, their mutual interactions, interactions with other biological substances (esp. cancerostatics) and properties of macromolecules at phase interphases. The biophysical field involves also a study of influence of external physical factors (ultrasound, electromagnetic field, plasma, UV and ionizing radiation) on biological subjects.
Methods used in the research include spectroscopy (circular and linear dichroism, fluorescence, NMR, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering), calorimetry, electrochemical methods (impendance spectroscopy, voltammetry, pulsed polarography), electrophoresis, high-resolution cytometry, methods of radiation biophysics and computer simulation of structures of biologically relevant molecules. We aim also to push the detectability limits of the studied substances using TIRE (Total Internal Reflection Ellipsometry) method on plasmonic structures. Applications as biosensors were also a topic of one of schools of TWINFUSION project.
