Summer school

Project name

Development of a method for in vitro assessment of water toxicity

Leader

Ing. Jakub Bumba, Ph.D.

Description of the activities of the project

• The primary purpose of the Tissue and cell culture laboratory in Nové Hrady is to test the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of various types of samples, including solid materials, extracts, leachates, as well as chemical substances, compounds, or their mixtures. The unique approach of our laboratory involves observing the basic physiological manifestation of living unstained cells using the live cell imaging method, which serves as a highly sensitive indicator of physicochemical influences. The developed and used methods are based on elementary and empirical knowledge of cells that can be observed and subsequently quantified. One of the key parameters of cellular matter is the generation time, which is the time it takes for the cell population to double. This time can be easily influenced by a variety of parameters, which is exploited in studying the cytotoxicity of substances and the biocompatibility of materials.
• A global issue is the continuously increasing content of a variety of undesirable substances in drinking water, such as pharmaceuticals, drugs, antibiotics, hormones, etc., which are present in water samples but their levels often approach the limits of quantification of modern analytical instruments. The goal of this project is to develop a new method for in vitro testing of real water samples toxicity, based on the knowledge and experience gained from the development of previously validated methods. The developed method would allow the evaluation of the cytotoxicity of real water samples without significant sample pretreatment, based on the high sensitivity of living cells to the presence of physicochemical changes.
• Project participants will be able to assess the effect of pollutant on cell cultures based on the evaluation of changes in cellular dynamic parameters.

Students

• Number of students - 1-2
• high school students students - NO
• university students - YES
• Prepositions (what should the students know): Interest in cell biology, microscopy and water pollutants, dexterity, effort to learn new things.