Dr. Mikhail Kryuchkov
Dr. Mikhail Kryuchkov is currently a postdoctoral researcher at University of Geneva, Switzerland. He earned his PhD at University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 2020 and his Master’s degree in the Medical Biochemistry from the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk, Russia in 2009. In between his studies, he worked as an engineer at Institute of Protein Research in Moscow, Russia and at the R-Pharm in Yaroslavl, Russia, where he also was a group head.
Mikhail research expertise includes molecular biology methods (RT PCR, mol. cloning, etc.), biotechnological methods (protein purification, etc.), physical measurements (AFM, spectroscopy, etc.), mathematical analysis (simulations, python). He has published a number of scientific articles, including the Nature paper on “Reverse and forward engineering of Drosophila corneal nanocoatings” M Kryuchkov, O Bilousov, J Lehmann, M Fiebig, VL Katanaev, Nature 585 (7825), 383-389, and a patent No. 18175103.3, filed on May 30, 2018, entered National phases in European, Asian and American regions.
Mikhail says: “Make the world a better and cleaner, give the world a new technology - that is what it cost to live on this planet. All my life I tried, no matter what, to follow this goal.”
1. Please summarize the research you do and explain why it is significant.
One of the reasons for the evolutionary success of arthropods is their successful mastering of bionanotechnological innovations. The surface of most arthropods is dotted with various kinds of nanosized outgrowths, grooves or depressions. As a result of such an upgrade, the surface acquires completely new, uncharacteristic properties, providing such advantages as a better vision or less visibility (anti-glare function), self-cleaning and an ability to move along the water surface (anti-adhesive function), as well as an ability to kill pathogenic bacteria upon contact with them (bactericidal function). The ability to fine-tune the functionality of these nanostructures, as well as their rapid variability, has been honed by arthropods over millions of years of evolution. An added bonus is the fact that insects synthesize nano-coatings under mild conditions without the use of toxic chemicals and sophisticated equipment. In my project I try to investigate, mimic and reproduce such structures.
2. How might your research be used?
Reengineering biological nanocoatings makes it possible to produce affordably and environmentally friendly nanostructured surfaces with such desired properties as a reduced light reflection, hydrophobicity and bactericidal properties, and supplement them by some biotechnological modifications. These modifications such as affinity tags, chemical labelling, fusion with enzymes will make it possible to create metamaterials and materials for medical equipment and diagnostics based on nanostructured coatings.
3. Why is the Park AFM important for your research?
Accuracy, speed and reliability of measurements, combined with the simplicity of the interface, are critical in my work. Park Systems microscopes are the best fit for this description.
4. What features of Park AFM are the most beneficial and why?
What really amazed me was the measurement speed and the quality of the resulting images when using the PinPointTM mode. This allowed me to speed up my work significantly and get impressive results (should be published soon).