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Summer with Our International Students

This summer, our lab is hosting two international students – Inés from France (Erasmus program) and Maja from Poland (IAESTE). Today, together with Simona, we took a trip to the beautiful Bohemian Paradise, where Jitka showed them her favorite pond, Věžák – a place she swims in both summer and winter!

Inés
Her project focused on the preparation and characterization of alginate microparticles for encapsulating microorganisms. Inés successfully mastered the use of the Büchi Encapsulator to create alginate beads with a core-shell structure. She then explored whether these hydrogel-based capsules – ideal for hosting cells – could be transported by decanol droplets, a method inspired by artificial chemotaxis. By adding a surfactant during cross-linking, she managed to incorporate hydrophilic capsules into hydrophobic droplets, developing a novel transport system.

Maja
Maja has been playing the role of a chemical Mendel in the lab. She’s crossbreeding chemical salts to grow entirely new types of chemical gardens – intricate and beautiful structures that have not been observed before.

We’re happy to have these curious and creative minds with us this summer!