© Jacek Walkowiak

Overview on Research

My current research is focused on formation of microgels with vast morphological features including:

• Formation of anisotropic and multicompartment microgels e.g. Janus particles (JPs) and Complex colloidal particle clusters (CCPCs) in flow
• Formation of microgels conjugated with enzymes and affibodies for biomedical purposes
• Utilization of microgels as anti-ice surface coatings – reduction of the ice crystals adhesion and ice recrystallization inhibition

Research focus

• Polymer synthesis: photoemulsion polymerization, ATRP, RAFT
• Microgel formation: flow chemistry
• Interaction between multivalent polyelectrolytes and proteins: ITC, QCM-D

Projects

IGF Research project 21728N: Anti-Ice: Ice-repellent microgel-based textile coatings

MiRAGE

PleuraPlug

 

Publications

Santi, M., Saha, P., Walkowiak, J.J., Rubner, J., Wessling, M., and Pich, A. (2022) In-Line Characterization of the Temperature-Responsive Behavior of Surface-Bound Microgel Coatings by QCM-D: A Novel Strategy for Protein Repellence Evaluation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 14 (8), 10907–10916.

Bukala, J., Yavvari, P., Walkowiak, J.J., Ballauff, M., and Weinhart, M. (2021) Interaction of linear polyelectrolytes with proteins: Role of specific charge–charge interaction and ionic strength. Biomolecules, 11 (9).

Walkowiak, J.J., and Ballauff, M. (2021) Interaction of Polyelectrolytes with Proteins: Quantifying the Role of Water. Adv. Sci., 8 (12), 1–9.

Walkowiak, J., Gradzielski, M., Zauscher, S., and Ballauff, M. (2020) Interaction of Proteins with a Planar Poly(acrylic acid) Brush: Analysis by Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring (QCM-D). Polymers (Basel)., 13 (1), 122.

Walkowiak, J.J., Ballauff, M., Zimmermann, R., Freudenberg, U., and Werner, C. (2020) Thermodynamic Analysis of the Interaction of Heparin with Lysozyme. Biomacromolecules, 21 (11), 4615–4625.

Walkowiak, J., Lu, Y., Gradzielski, M., Zauscher, S., and Ballauff, M. (2020) Thermodynamic Analysis of the Uptake of a Protein in a Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brush. Macromol. Rapid Commun., 41 (1), 1900421.