Pavel Špaček received an honourable mention in the Crytur 2025 Awards for his thesis entitled ‘The Use of Photon Upconversion Nanoparticles in Single-Molecule Immunoassays’ (Supervisor: doc. Zdeněk Farka, Department of Biochemistry).
The award-winning thesis aimed to develop, optimise and compare three types of single-molecule immunoassay using labels based on photon-upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). These nanocrystals exhibit a unique property, upconversion luminescence, which has the ability to convert near-infrared radiation into light of a shorter wavelength (anti-Stokes emission). This significantly reduces optical background noise and increases measurement sensitivity.
The capabilities of UCNPs also allow for the digital detection of single molecules using modified epifluorescence microscopy (upconversion microscopy). In his work, the author employed transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and nanoparticle trajectory analysis, among other techniques.
The results could contribute to the development of more sensitive methods for detecting biomarkers in clinical practice, enabling earlier cancer diagnosis.
About the Crytur Award
The CRYTUR Award has been presented every year since 2014 to recognise the best theses in materials science. Sponsored by CRYTUR, spol. s r.o., the competition is open to students at Czech and Slovak universities. Theses submitted for defence between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025 will be evaluated in the current year.
A total of CZK 1,356,000 has been awarded in prize money since the competition began.
Foto: Crytur´s Archive
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