Biophysics

Dr. Gyarmati, Benjámin Sándor, Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science

Dr. Gyarmati, Benjámin Sándor, Department of Physical Chemistry and Materials Science

Students are expected to have a general knowledge in the following fields: basic physical quantities, particularly in electricity (voltage, potential, current, charge, etc.; the laws of thermodynamics, Gibbs free energy, colloid chemistry basics (micelles, adhesion).

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The objective of the course is to give a survey about the main fields of biophysics emphasizing their interdisciplinary (chemical, biological and physical) features. Beside the short description of traditional aspects (biomechanics and sensory organs), the main part deals with the increasingly important field of molecular biophysics. Special attention is devoted to the formation of self-organized, nano-scaled systems and membranes will be a central aspect of the subject, with emphasis on transport processes accross them involving the ion transport in neurons. In the remaining part of course several methods for characterizing the bio-nanosystems are described giving number of examples of applications. Modern methods for characterizing interactions between biological macromolecules will be also part of the subject and related experimental setups for imaging (e.g., fluroescence microscopy) complete the subject.