@article {3632, title = {Laser-based techniques: Novel tools for the identification and characterization of aged microplastics with developed biofilm}, journal = {Chemosphere}, volume = {313}, year = {2023}, pages = {137373}, abstract = {

Microplastics found in the environment are often covered with a biofilm, which makes their analysis difficult. Therefore, the biofilm is usually removed before analysis, which may affect the microplastic particles or lead to their loss during the procedure. In this work, we used laser-based analytical techniques and evaluated their performance in detecting, characterizing, and classifying pristine and aged microplastics with a developed biofilm. Five types of microplastics from different polymers were selected (polyamide, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride) and aged under controlled conditions in freshwater and wastewater. The development of biofilm and the changes in the properties of the microplastic were evaluated. The pristine and aged microplastics were characterized by standard methods (e.g., optical and scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy), and then laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were used. The results show that LIBS could identify different types of plastics regardless of the ageing and major biotic elements of the biofilm layer. LA-ICP-MS showed a high sensitivity to metals, which can be used as markers for various plastics. In addition, LA-ICP-MS can be employed in studies to monitor the adsorption and desorption (leaching) of metals during the ageing of microplastics. The use of these laser-based analytical techniques was found to be beneficial in the study of environmentally relevant microplastics.

}, keywords = {BF, MF}, issn = {0045-6535}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137373}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653522038668}, author = {Pavel Po{\v r}{\'\i}zka and Lukas Brunnbauer and Michaela Porkert and Ula Rozman and Gregor Marolt and Daniel Holub and Martin Kizovsk{\'y} and Mark{\'e}ta Bene{\v s}ov{\'a} and Ota Samek and Andreas Limbeck and Jozef Kaiser and Gabriela Kal{\v c}{\'\i}kov{\'a}} } @article {3787, title = {Physiological and transcriptome profiling of Chlorella sorokiniana: A study on azo dye wastewater decolorization}, journal = {Journal of Hazardous Materials}, volume = {460}, year = {2023}, pages = {132450}, abstract = {

Over decades, synthetic dyes have become increasingly dominated by azo dyes posing a significant environmental risk due to their toxicity. Microalgae-based systems may offer an alternative for treatment of azo dye effluents to conventional physical-chemical methods. Here, microalgae were tested to decolorize industrial azo dye wastewater (ADW). Chlorella sorokiniana showed the highest decolorization efficiency in a preliminary screening test. Subsequently, the optimization of the experimental design resulted in 70\% decolorization in a photobioreactor. Tolerance of this strain was evidenced using multiple approaches (growth and chlorophyll content assays, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and antioxidant level measurements). Raman microspectroscopy was employed for the quantification of ADW-specific compounds accumulated by the microalgal biomass. Finally, RNA-seq revealed the transcriptome profile of C. sorokiniana exposed to ADW for 72\ h. Activated DNA repair and primary metabolism provided sufficient energy for microalgal growth to overcome the adverse toxic conditions. Furthermore, several transporter genes, oxidoreductases-, and glycosyltransferases-encoding genes were upregulated to effectively sequestrate and detoxify the ADW. This work demonstrates the potential utilization of C. sorokiniana as a tolerant strain for industrial wastewater treatment, emphasizing the regulation of its molecular mechanisms to cope with unfavorable growth conditions.

}, keywords = {BF, MF}, issn = {0304-3894}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132450}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389423017338}, author = {Vladimira Tarbajova and Martina Kolackova and Pavel Chaloupsky and Marketa Dobesova and Petr Capal and Zdenek Pilat and Ota Samek and Pavel Zem{\'a}nek and Pavel Svec and Dagmar Skopalova Sterbova and Marketa Vaculovicova and Lukas Richtera and Alfredo P{\'e}rez-de-Mora and Vojtech Adam and Dalibor Huska} } @article {3729, title = {Rapid Identification of Pathogens Causing Bloodstream Infections by Raman Spectroscopy and Raman Tweezers}, journal = {Microbiology Spectrum}, volume = {11}, year = {2023}, pages = {e00028-23}, keywords = {BF, MF}, doi = {10.1128/spectrum.00028-23}, url = {https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/spectrum.00028-23}, author = {Katar{\'\i}na Rebro{\v s}ov{\'a} and Silvie Bernatov{\'a} and Martin {\v S}iler and Jan Ma{\v s}ek and Ota Samek and Jan Je{\v z}ek and Martin Kizovsk{\'y} and Veronika Hol{\'a} and Pavel Zem{\'a}nek and Filip R{\r u}{\v z}i{\v c}ka} } @article {3796, title = {Rapid identification of pathogens in blood serum via Raman tweezers in combination with advanced processing methods}, journal = {Biomed. Opt. Express}, volume = {14}, year = {2023}, month = {Dec}, pages = {6410{\textendash}6421}, keywords = {AIF, BF, LF, MF}, doi = {10.1364/BOE.503628}, url = {https://opg.optica.org/boe/abstract.cfm?URI=boe-14-12-6410}, author = {Ond{\v r}ej Vacul{\'\i}k and Silvie Bernatov{\'a} and Katar{\'\i}na Rebro{\v s}ov{\'a} and Ota Samek and Luk{\'a}{\v s} {\v S}ilhan and Filip R{\r u} {\v z}i{\v c}ka and Mojm{\'\i}r {\v S}er{\'y} and Martin {\v S}iler and Jan Je{\v z} ek and Pavel Zem{\'a}nek} } @article {3576, title = {The potential of combining laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy data for the analysis of wood samples}, journal = {Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy}, volume = {195}, year = {2022}, pages = {106487}, abstract = {

We report on combining the surface analysis technique of Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) with Raman spectroscopy. The combination of both techniques enables to study the chemical composition of the sample in a broader context when combining elemental and molecular information. Obtained elemental and molecular spectra are characteristic for individual biological samples (e.g., organs and cells) and are considered as a fingerprint. In this study, Raman spectroscopy is used for the detection of important molecular complexes in selected wood samples, e.g., accurate lignin and cellulose content on distinct spots of the sample surface. We chose Raman as a standard reference technique that is used for the lignin/cellulose ratio estimation. To complement the molecular information, LIBS technique was employed for the imaging of essential nutrients, e.g., Ca, Na, and K. Consequently, the contribution from both analytical techniques was combined and changes in the molecular content were visually correlated to the abundance of nutrition elements and show a direct dependence between the two signal responses. Thus, we can get specific answers to relation of lignin and cellulose formation with nutrients within the plant tissue. This evidence may then be helpful for the study of the effect of various environmental and stress factors.

}, keywords = {BF, MF}, issn = {0584-8547}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2022.106487}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0584854722001318}, author = {Daniel Holub and Pavel Po{\v r}{\'\i}zka and Martin Kizovsk{\'y} and David Prochazka and Ota Samek and Josef Kaiser} } @article {3504, title = {Raman spectroscopy{\textemdash}a tool for rapid differentiation among microbes causing urinary tract infections}, journal = {Analytica Chimica Acta}, volume = {1191}, year = {2022}, pages = {339292}, keywords = {BF, KF, MF}, issn = {0003-2670}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2021.339292}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003267021011181}, author = {Katar{\'\i}na Rebro{\v s}ov{\'a} and Silvie Bernatov{\'a} and Martin {\v S}iler and Magdalena Uhlirova and Ota Samek and Jan Je{\v z}ek and Veronika Hol{\'a} and Filip R{\r u}{\v z}i{\v c}ka and Pavel Zem{\'a}nek} } @article {3577, title = {The role of polyhydroxyalkanoates in adaptation of Cupriavidus necator to osmotic pressure and high concentration of copper ions}, journal = {International Journal of Biological Macromolecules}, volume = {206}, year = {2022}, pages = {977-989}, abstract = {

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are abundant microbial polyesters accumulated in the form of intracellular granules by numerous prokaryotes primarily as storage of carbon and energy. Apart from their storage function, the presence of PHA also enhances the robustness of the microbial cells against various stressors. In this work, we investigated the role of PHA in Cupriavidus necator, a model organism concerning PHA metabolism, for adaptation to osmotic pressure and copper ions. In long-term laboratory evolution experiments, the bacterial culture was cultivated in presence of elevated doses of sodium chloride or copper ions (incubations lasted 78 passages for Cu2+ and 68 passages for NaCl) and the evolved strains were compared with the wild-type strain in terms of growth and PHA production capacity, cell morphology (investigated by various electron microscopy techniques), activities of selected enzymes involved in PHA metabolism and other crucial metabolic pathways, the chemical composition of bacterial biomass (determined by infrared and Raman spectroscopy) and also considering robustness against various stressors. The results confirmed the important role of PHA metabolism for adaptation to both tested stressors.

}, keywords = {BF, MF}, issn = {0141-8130}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.03.102}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813022005712}, author = {Ivana Novackova and Vendula Hrabalova and Eva Slaninova and Petr Sedlacek and Ota Samek and Martin Koller and Vladislav Krzyzanek and Kamila Hrubanova and Katerina Mrazova and Jana Nebesarova and Stanislav Obruca} }