LIVING MATERIALS PACZESNY LAB
Team
We are using chemistry, biology, and physics mixed together to obtain a new quality of research on bio-inspired, functional nanomaterials.
Our Work
Our lab aims to establish a two-way connection between the biology and chemistry of materials. We attempt to be clever in our work to answer important questions and not to be “equipment oriented”. For team members, the work in the lab should be a way to reach scientific excellence.
Job offers
We are always looking for students who are willing to work hard on their bachelor's or master's thesis in our group. There are also open positions for internships.
OPEN POSITIONS!
PHD STUDENT within OPUS 2022/45/B/ST5/01500 project. The scholarship within the project is secured for 3 years and amount to around 5000 PLN per month. For the fourth year of PhD studies the governmental scholarship will be paid (around 3600 PLN per month, as for now). The application needs to be send via Warsaw4PhD doctoral school system [HERE] before the 4th of June. More details [HERE].
POST DOCS within OPUS 2022/45/B/ST5/01500 project with monthly salary of around 9600 PLN gross. The position is for 18 months with possible extensions up to 34 months based on the performance. Application deadline 30.06.2023. More details [HERE].
POST DOCS within OPUS 2019/35/B/ST5/03229 project with monthly salary of around 8000 PLN gross. The position is for 12 months. Application deadline 18.06.2023. More details [HERE].
News and Succeses

May 2023
Paper accepted!
Stimuli-responsive Langmuir Films Composed of Nanoparticles Decorated with Poly(N-isopropyl Acrylamide) (PNIPAM) at the Air/Water Interface
Rafał Zbonikowski, Michalina Iwan, Jan Paczesny
ACS Omega, just accepted

May 2023
Conference time! Jan Paczesny attended The 21st Annual Meeting of Society of Nano Science and Technology in Hakodate, Japan. He talked about stabilization of viruses.

April 2023
We invite everyone to check the new series of lectures - "Breaking barriers - physical chemistry in biological systems".
09.05.2023, 13:00, Prof. Rienk Eelkema, Delft University of Technology
16.05.2023, 11:00, Prof. Lee Cronin, University of Glasgow
23.05.2023, 12:00, Prof. Petra Schwille, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry
30.05.2023, 11:00, Prof. Alex Evilevitch, Lund University
30.05.2023, 16:00, Prof. Vincent Rotello, University of Massachusetts Amherst
06.06.2023, 11:00, Prof. Maciej Wojtkowski, IChF & ICTER
More details and links are available here!

March 2023
Our PhD student Mateusz Wdowiak was selected to present a scientific poster at the upcoming 10th FEMS Congress of European Microbiologists in July 2023 in Hamburg.
FEMS2023 is the biggest event in Europe dedicated to showcasing the latest developments across the broad scope of microbiology.

March 2023
Jan Paczesny went to Japan to work with Professor Shigeori Takenaka at Kyushu Institute of Technology! The visit is funded by The Matsumae International Foundation, Japan.

March 2023
We are hining! Post-doc within OPUS 2019/35/B/ST5/03229 (nanosynthesis, nanocharacterization, thin films, physical chemistry, organic physical chemistry) wanted!
More details here!

March 2023
Coffee Seminars are back on! Coffee Seminars are semi-informal meetings (with coffee) that aim to allow us to keep up to date with the most active research areas while, at the same time, facilitating networking in our Institute. Organizers - Alexandra Siklitskaya (Team 20 - CoopCat) and Jan Paczesny invite you to join on Fridays, 1 pm.

March 2023
Our paper was highlighted on the cover of the journal issue!
Congo red protects bacteriophages against UV irradiation and allows for the simultaneous use of phages and UV for membrane sterilization
Mateusz Wdowiak, Patryk A. Mierzejewski, Rafał Zbonikowski, Bartłomiej Bończaka and Jan Paczesny*
Environmental Science Water Research & Technology, 2023, DOI: 10.1039/d2ew00913g (IF=5.82)
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/ew/d2ew00913g

March 2023
Yet another paper coming from the group (fifth this year already!)
Heteroaggregation of virions and microplastics reduces the number of active bacteriophages in aqueous environments
Enkhlin Ochirbat, Rafał Zbonikowski, Anna Sulicka, Bartłomiej Bończak, Magdalena Bonarowska, Marcin Łoś, Elżbieta Malinowska, Robert Hołyst, Jan Paczesny
Journal of Environmental Quality, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20459

March 2023
New paper coming from our group!
Adaptive 2D and Pseudo-2D Systems: Molecular, Polymeric, and Colloidal Building Blocks for Tailored Complexity
by Rafał Zbonikowski, Pumza Mente, Bartłomiej Bończak and Jan Paczesny
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(5), 855; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13050855
February 2023
With the end of the month we say "thank you" to Pumza Mente and Bartek Bonczak, who are starting work in new places. Bartek is a post doc fellow in Professor Serena Arnaboldi group in Milan, Italy. Good luck!
February 2023
Konrad Gizynski and Tomasz Andryszewski (from the Soft Matter group at IPC) are popularizing science! This time they prepared the chemical show for students.
January 2023
Pumza Mente coauthored recently published paper. Congrats!
Catalyst Design: Counter Anion Effect on Ni Nanocatalysts Anchored on Hollow Carbon Spheres
Ryan O’Connor,Joyce B. Matsoso, Victor Mashindi, Pumza Mente, Lebohang Macheli, Beatriz D. Moreno, Bryan P. Doyle, Neil J. Coville and Dean H. Barrett
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(3), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13030426 [IF= 5.08]

January 2023
Our PhD student Mateusz Wdowiak was appointed a regular member of the Polish Society of Microbiologists. PSM is a founder-member of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS), the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS), and the member of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID).

January 2023
New paper has been accepted for publication!
Congo red protects bacteriophages against UV irradiation and allows for the simultaneous use of phages and UV for membrane sterilization
Mateusz Wdowiak, Patryk A. Mierzejewski, Rafał Zbonikowski, Bartłomiej Bończaka and Jan Paczesny*
Environmental Science Water Research & Technology, 2023, DOI: 10.1039/d2ew00913g (IF=5.82)
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2023/ew/d2ew00913g

January 2023
We welcome Witold Adamkiewicz, PhD, in the group. Witold will work with materials and physical chemistry of dynamic systems.
December 2022
A new paper has been accepted for publication! The manuscript entitled "An Overview of Diverse Strategies To Inactivate Enterobacteriaceae-Targeting Bacteriophages" authored by Sada Raza, Mateusz Wdowiak and Jan Paczesny will be published in EcoSal Plus. This is our first paper in journal published by American Society for Microbiology.
Raza, S., Wdowiak, M., & Paczesny, J.*
EcoSal Plus, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1128/ecosalplus.esp-0019-2022

December 2022
Jan Paczesny was awarded OPUS gran. The project aims to develop antiphagents that will be safe for bacteria and eukaryotic cells. The whole grant is for aorund 2.2 M PLN.
We will have PhD and post doc position open for new group members.

December 2022
Jan Paczesny visited Prus High School in Żary, Poland. I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bolesława Prusa is a school that Janek graduated from. The meeting was to convince students that science is interesting! :)

November 2022
We are happy to announce that another paper was accepted for publication.
Gold–Oxoborate Nanocomposite Coated Orthodontic Brackets Gain Antibacterial Properties while Remaining Safe for Eukaryotic Cells
J. Lyczek,* B. Bończak, I. Krzymińska, K. Gizyński, J. Paczesny*
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part B - Applied Biomaterials, accepted [IF=3.4]
October 2022
Another paper coming from the group.
Relaxation, temporal diffusion, and polarity of aromatic hydrocarbons in ionic liquid
N. O. Atamas, K. S. Yablochkova, M. M. Lazarenko & G. Taranyik
Applied Nanoscience (2022) [IF=3.67]
October 2022
With the new academic year, there are new opportunities to join lectures taught by Jan Paczesny:
"Law and ethics in research"
October 2022 - Wroclaw University of Life Sciences
November 2022 - Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS
February 2023 - Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS
"The art of public presentation"
December 2022 - Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS
January 2023 - Wroclaw University of Life Sciences
March 2023 - Institute of Physical Chemistry PAS

October 2022
Yet another paper published - a result of collaboration with group from Poznań, Poland and Kjeller, Norway!
Fabrication of 1D particle structures outside a liquid environment using electric and capillary interactions: From fundamentals to applications
Z. Rozynek, Y. Harkavyi, K. Giżyński
Materials & Design, 2022, 223, 111233 [IF=9.417]
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127522008553

October 2022
New paper - a result of collaboration with Warsaw Military University of Technology.
Optical Properties of a Tapered Optical Fiber Coated with Alkanes Doped with Fe3O4 Nanoparticles
Karol A. Stasiewicz,* Iwona Jakubowska, Joanna E. Moś, Paweł Marć, Jan Paczesny, Rafał Zbonikowski and Leszek R. Jaroszewicz
Sensors 2022, 22(20), 7801 (IF=3.847)

October 2022
We visited Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy PAS in Wroclaw. Thanks for having us and teaching us new tricks!