Government and Nanotechnology: One Great Wisted Chance<

Nebýt koronakrize, o nanovlákenných materiálech by se nejspíš mluvilo pramálo. Přitom Češi udělali v tomto směru díru do světa – tým kolem emeritního rektora Technické univerzity v Liberci Davida Lukáše vyvinul technologii, která textilnímu oboru dala příležitost nevídaných rozměrů. A zatímco město, kraj a místní dělali během jara prodchnutého strachem z nemoci covid-19 vše možné, aby vědce ze své univerzity podpořili, stát… o to moc nestál. Pro pochopení, co v Liberci dokázali, je ale nezbytné porozumět, o čem je vlastně řeč. Dovolte tedy nejprve malý exkurz do světa nanotechnologií. S ohledem na druhou vlnu covid-19 odemykáme rozhovor z letního speciálu Neovlivní.cz. I nyní totiž stát nanovlákna odsouvá na druhou kolej.

Neo: Where did it all start?When did the history of your nanofibre research begin?

You see, I guess I can't even assign it to one year.But let's say it was in the zero years of this century.Our colleague, Professor Oldřich Jirsák, led our Department of Non -Woven, and at a time when he had borrowed high -voltage resources from the US, he came up with the idea of trying to make nanofibers using the electrical sparrow method.Little is known that the production technology is binding as early as 1888.At that time, the British physicist Boys spoke about it, but in those zero years, electrical sparrows lived more in laboratories than developed equipment for industrial production.It is documented that the United States and the former Soviet Union had such devices with such devices.But no one produced equipment for mass industrial production of nanofibers.We opened the topic at our department.The patent that promoted the laboratory production of nanofibers to industrials has six originators.In addition to me and Professor Jirsák, she was my colleague Lenka Martinová, our two great technicians Václav Kotek and Filip Sanetrink and also Jiří Chaloupek.They just opened the door to industrial production.If I were to talk about myself, I did not deal with technology at the time but the theory of the process.Together with my colleagues, we wrote an introductory article on electrohydrodynamic instability, which explained the phenomenon on which the spare from the free surfaces of the polymer solutions.Don't I speak incomprehensible, or is it understandable?

Neo: So far okay, I'm pretty catching.

In short, it is a paradox that nanofiber production technology itself by the method of electrical spinning (ie.electrospinning) is very old.And no one has come from the zero years with any discovery concerning mass industrial production.On the resurrection of nanofiber production based on so -called needle spinners with 90.years deserved American electrical engineer RENEKER.Its method looked like nanofibers are emitted from the tip of a very fine capillary in an electric field.The production of such equipment was in tenths of grams per hour, very small.The contribution of our team led by Professor Jirsák was that we showed that you can spin not from the capillaries, but from the so -called free hills of polymer solutions on which self -organization is formed by individual nozzles, that is, thin streams of polymer solution.In the electric field of the spinning chamber, due to the long -term effect of electrical forces, the solvent are relieved and transformed into a solid, which is just nanofiber.

And I should say that then Professor Jirsák had a very happy hand when he got into cooperation with Elmarco because the company entered the market for industrial production.It was a bold step because the sale of machines does not earn as much as on the sale of products made by unique technology.They still entered this thin ice.They also had financial problems for some time, but fortunately they have dealt with them and today they are on the basis of our patent for which they received an exclusive license from the university, the dominant world manufacturer.

NEO: I'm already quite oriented, but tell me what is the real victory of your discovery?

I will now talk about the patent on the so -called alternate spinning, it is called AC electrospinning.From the DC (DC) electrospinning differs in that you use not a DC but alternating voltage source.In DC electrospinning you need a so -called anti -electrode.The polymer solution is usually charged positively in contact with the so -called spinning electrode.Anti -electrode, the so -called collector, is charged negatively.The fibers are created by electric forces, long and transported from the positive electrode to that negative.When you do not need anti -electrodes in AC electrospinning and a special trick is born above a single spinning electrode and are then carried by the so -called electric wind in the form of a veil of nanofibers.You can guide them to any other part of the technology you need to enrich the nanofibers.Am I saying it at least a little comprehensible?

Neo: so it's a little higher girl as they say, but I understand that they are two ways that can be combined as needed as need.But if I go back about the twenty years, have you expected success, or did you not believe much?

Well, maybe at the very beginning, in the improvement of DC electrospinning and discovery AC electrospinning, we were all skeptical all.This is because the nanofiber mass or nanofibre layers produced in this way differ significantly from any other fiber classic textile layers.Especially by the fact that nanofibers made from carbon polymers are not very mechanically fixed.You can not handle these materials without any substrate, without any quotation marks on which the nanofiber is applied.Their mechanical properties are really very curious.On the other hand, these layers are very flexible and have, for example, the ability to imitate the so -called extracellular mass that is inside live multicellular organisms, and therefore these materials provide applications for which classic textile materials are not applicable.So the initial skepticism was that the nanofibre layers would not match the classic textile layers, their mechanical properties are bad.

Neo: How would you describe the state that went hand in hand with success?Was it a pure joy?

I remember that in the high -voltage testing room of the EGU Laboratory, we caught a nanofibrous siding with our hands and to makeshift reels.Customers looked with their mouths open.We had no idea what it was for at all, and we had such a child's joy as if we had just completed a fairground performance.

Neo: How complex is the legislative part of similar patents?

I don't think it is legislatively demanding.The problem is that on a number of Czech public schools are not a professional and systematic working department for financial reasons that would deal with patent law and transfer of intellectual property.At the beginning, the originator of the idea and leading the university will take over the initiative only when it turns out that such an invention to something is.But I don't formulate it as a complaint.I describe the current situation in which I believe.

Neo: And do we have enough new talents?

Undoubtedly, but I would mention one thing.Ten years ago I was at a year's university stay in the United States, and there I noticed that the differences between us are primarily in the fact that there are "brains" that hunt for high salaries and well organized academic work throughoutworld.Although we dealt with them in the field of instrumentation and machinery, in the direction of "brain concentration" are unrivaled for us so far.

When I went back to the Czech Republic, I had a stubborn idea that we can only face this "handicap" by collective intelligence, which is our advantage.This is one of the reasons why I put together groups from various fields-from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, science-humanity, pedagogical and so on.We are undoubtedly far more crafted and engineering more skilled and more experienced than they are, which is an extraordinary advantage of our technical high learning.It looks like I degrade the engineering work, but that's not so.I just wanted to emphasize that the connection between natural scientists and engineers in the US will not experience as effective as in our country.

We proceeded as well at the beginning of coronacrize.It was very happy that our rector took me to a meeting led by the Rector of CTU.There universities arranged how they could help at the beginning of coronacrize.And Mr. Zdřímal from the Institute of Chemical Processes of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which has long been involved in the testing of filter efficiency and production of nanoparticles.We sent him samples to measure the filter properties of our AC nanomaterials and it turned out surprisingly very well for us.Based on these experimental data in our country, the production of filters by AC spinning was accelerated at the University.

Neo: The power of collective intelligence.I assume that the situation around the pandemic has built you for even greater and better performance…

of course.At that time, reports came primarily from Italy and China, as is overloaded with healthcare.We expected something similar in our country, so we were in euphoria that we were capable of Liberec Region and the Czech Republic in this respect to help significantly.The enthusiasm of colleagues and students in this period was very reminiscent of the year 89.We came up with some new idea every day.For example, after about a week or fourteen days, it was clear that our production, which was not larger than, say, a maximum of three thousand filters a day, must be increased and that we must transfer our know-how to industrial environment.Which managed such a hussar piece after visiting the governor of Pune, when we agreed at the university together if it would be worth building any larger industrial equipment based on a functional sample that produces using AC technology.We thought this way would be too long and found that we could address the drylog of technologies in Hrádek nad Nisou, whether they would adjust the line for the production of diapers for folding and mowing nanofiber filters.And because there were some of our former doctoral students, they really managed to rebuild one line with the consent of the owner into the production of nanofiber filters.And then this large -scale production, which went up to a hundred thousand pieces per day, supplied Elmarco based on machines derived from our first patent, DC electrospinning.

Neo: We all watched your actions, but I found it at a nationwide level - compared to the regional - did not support you too much.Or am I wrong?

You are right.The contrast was really incredible.As we supported us by the region, the city, or the local food suppliers who carried us for free lunch or who gave us a coffee machine, none of this has been reflected in the state level.

It is a mystery to me because I have the impression that the Czech Republic really missed the opportunity to rely on such a crisis situation on its own forces.At the Political-Moral level, we really missed the opportunity to show that we were self-sufficient and that we would be able to help other European states that have suffered a far greater lack of trademark than we do.

Neo: Where was the problem?Was it a simple distrust or business?

I know the hypotheses that unfortunately it was a business but I can't confirm them.However, as I watch the information in the news, I have the impression that business has played a significant role, although I thought it was more of a rooted Czech little venue in the first days.

Example - if billions that went to protective equipment abroad remained in the Czech Republic, some Czech companies would not be in such poor condition caused by the attenuation of industrial production.On the other hand, I understand that the decision -making was not easy at that time.Politicians could think: God knows what our companies produce, have no certificates of newly developed protective equipment.But I think that the risk could go.And after all, we have institutions that would be able to give attest products to products.Institutes of the Academy of Sciences could have been officially involved in this attestation process, such as the Center of Colleague Ždímal, who measured filters from different parts of our country from morning to evening.

Neo: And what is the situation now?Have you interrupted production or do you continue?

We have completely interrupted the production.Our engineers are now preparing a new version of the device, so the production is suppressed in our country.But it is true that we now want to deal with scientific outputs of coronacrize.Maybe we're going to write articles in scientific journals.We also try to functionalize filter materials so that they are able to destroy viral particles.So we moved into a research position that belongs to and suits the university.

As for the industrial environment, I think there is an active company Obrokov, which produces microfibre materials based on MELT-BLOWN technology.It supplied, and today supplies filters to e-shops that can really be bought for a crown price for one piece.I think there is Nano Medical here in Turnov, which based on Elmarca machines offers very efficient filter material.And our academic wishes are perhaps only that we deserve some systematic support of research, development, production and education in the field of nanomaterials and specially nanofibers, which is typical of the Czech Republic and especially for Liberec.

NEO: Is it possible to say that you are preparing for "worse times"?

Exactly.I think that is now the task of university and academic workplaces.It is essential to point out that it is not won.The virus is still active, although the epidemic has been prevented mainly by repressive measures that reduced the likelihood of viral infection transmission.But there is no completely non -zero probability that in the autumn in parallel with flu can appear this problem again.Therefore, it is worth preparing for such a situation intellectually.

Neo: I find that you didn't really have too much free time compared.When was the last time you rested?

It's far better now.I might even mention that we are loading by preparing a new study program at our university - bioxide.And we will probably get accreditation from the National Accreditation Office this week.So we are now overloaded with this work, but at the time of coronacrision we met before eight o'clock in the morning and we often left at nine in the evening, when various people from hospitals or cooperating universities arrived, which was mainly Charles University, Masaryk University,Veterinary University in Brno or CTU, so we just did fifteen every day.On Saturday and Sunday, but this deployment has already passed.

Neo: How did your wife look at it?

The woman all experienced it with me.Maybe I would mention one story: we have two doctoral students here that I am a trainer.They are Indians.And at the very beginning, when we did not talk much about coronacrisation, we tried and chose the cuts of the robes.And because the woman wasn't at home that day, I moved according to the sewing machine instructions.According to the editing of what we invented with those doctoral students from India, I put together two masks of nanofibre material that I had at home available.When the woman arrived home, she was very surprised what I was doing.Then she supported me day and night.She was worried not to infect ourselves.We even had a man in the building that was diagnosed at Covid-19, and we evacuated the workplace of nanofiltr production.I had all the support at home.My wife Iveta is used to these drifts.

Neo: You have two children.Did they sweat?

Yes, my younger daughter Věra studied cell biology at Charles University.Now she has already defended his doctoral thesis and may be part -time in our club here at the bioin specialist department.And my older daughter Eva is again philosopher.She graduated from Masaryk University and works in Prague for People in Need.

Neo: So as a father you can't complain.

By no means… But when we tapped those humanities, I would like to emphasize one thing.During coronacrision, three students worked with us from us from the University of Economics - David, Ondřej and Inka - and have done incredible things in promoting the ideas of our university.Maybe other Czech businesses, such as Obrokov, greatly mobilized.It was a great discovery for me personally.That is, in the sense of how experts from managment and economy managed to become part of technical teams in crisis moments and eventually managed to do much more than we technicians for a macro scale than we technicians.And this is also a model that I would expect from the government.It is a bit wild, but the steps that the government took, were not too managerial in the conditions of crisis.

Neo: What brought you at the personal level, are they new friends?

Newly created relationships persist up to the present time.I think that we and students of the Faculty of Economics have formed a genuine collegial relationship, which belongs to the university..In addition, this leads to long -term cooperation, which is an unquestionable benefit of that time.

Neo: I know you are not an expert in the field of virology, but you are definitely talking about the whole thing with colleagues from related fields.How do they look at the new type of coronavirus?

I really am not a virologist, I draw either from colleagues or literature, but the virus is still unpredictable in that when it creates copies of its genetic code, so the "device" that makes the copy quite often, and that makesThey create different new variants of that virus.So it is a bit unpredictable how it will develop further, if it creates more dangerous forms, or vice versa if it breaks so that it is unable to parasitize on people, but even bend to another host or disappear completely for a long time.

Another thing that is promising is the information that a colleague jumped with the club of other colleagues, prominent scientists from around the world.They now publish an article full of significant research information, showing that if we want to prevent the transmission of coronavirus, it is very easy to make a fortnight, three weeks, one month to all the populations so disciplined that it would wear masks even from very muchpoorly filtering materials.When you are sick, from your breathtakes to the robe are generated so -called large Flügge drops or respiratory drops that you can safely capture even cotton T -shirt.Protection is much harder when these respiratory drops in the surrounding air are formed by measures of water very small particles that you must capture with refined high -efficient filters as their dimensions can be around one hundred nanometers.This is a very interesting knowledge.

Neo: Very interesting… By the way - do you use your nanofiber at home?

(Laughs) I used them a lot at home now, and I still use it for the masks.She has not achieved at home for another application.But some of them work very well to clean the glasses.

Neo: Undoubtedly, you did a lot, but there will certainly be other inner dreams that you would like to fulfill in your profession.What are they?

Thus my main ambition is to explain the so -called birth of nanofiber nozzles or polymer nozzles created by the AC signed method.It is very complicated in that this leads to a solution of linear differential equations, but with time -peripable coefficients.These theoretical results must then be carefully compared with experimental data.I would like to do that, put such an article together in the foreseeable future.And then we have other ambitions to show under what conditions the nanofibers could also be dangerous to the environment if it was changed into "nanoplasty".This is an immediate ambition to which we would like to embark, but on the other hand I mean that the freshly made nanofiber stored under normal conditions in any way do not create such danger.

Neo: Let's not talk your free time.How will you rest in the summer?

I can tell you exactly.At the cottage we own such a small private pond that has about 25 x 25 meters.And for twenty years it has not been balanced by mud, so I have to expect 600 wheels for exporting.So I will rest physical work, which is perfect.And with my wife, we may go somewhere to the sea to the former Yugoslavia and otherwise we will rest at home.

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