Welcome to the homepage of the Aqueous Colloids Research Group!

The research group was founded by Prof. Etelka Tombácz officially in 2009. Self-

sustaining research in the nature-inspired areas of aqueous colloids like natural

waters and soils has been conducted since 1990, along a spiritual heritage of

Prof. Ferenc Szántó, the follower of Prof. Aladár Buzágh, who founded the

Department of Colloid Chemistry in Szeged in 1966 (summary of 35 years of

colloid research in Szeged - Hungarian). The scientific interest of the team is

focused on the composite aqueous colloidal systems relevant to interdisciplinary

- biological, geological and environmental - fields. We seek to reveal correlations

between the interfacial equilibria (pH-dependent surface charging, adsorption,

surface modification) and colloidal interactions (aggregation/dispersion of nano-

and microparticles) in composite systems containing mainly clay minerals, metal

oxides, humic substances, polymers/polyelectrolytes under various pH and electrolytic conditions. We use commonly the

home-developed potentiometric titration system, adsorption, dynamic light scattering, coagulation kinetics, laser Doppler

electrophoresis and rheology methods to characterize several natural and model systems. Decades ago, a striking effect

of magnetic field on the aggregation of nanoparticles under dynamic condition was revealed, which was independent of

the magnetic properties of particles. In recent years, all our efforts are focused on magnetic particles in order to develop

novel composites such as magneto-optical films, theranostic particles with superparamagnetic core for MRI diagnosis and

magnetic hyperthermia therapy. In the frame of international and national cooperation, we synthetize various magnetic

cores with designed shells and characterize them to select the eligible samples for in vitro, in vivo tests in specialized labs.

Contact:

HU-6720 Szeged Aradi Vt. tere 1. E-mail: tombacz@ chem.u-szeged.hu Phone: +36-62/544212