Lukáš Ustrnul

Lukáš Ustrnul is a Research Fellow and Chief Specialist at Tallinn University of Technology's School of Science (Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology). His career includes roles at Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic) from 2013-2017, focusing on supramolecular compounds and student supervision. He earned a Doctor's Degree in 2017 from Masaryk University, specializing in cucurbituril derivatives. His research interests span supramolecular chemistry, chiral sensors, porphyrin complexes, and molecular containers. He has received the 2015 Cori Award for Chemistry Presentation and contributed to major projects like 'Adaptable supramolecular chirality sensors' (€1.2M) and 'Development of innovative sensing systems' (€102K). Ustrnul supervises doctoral candidates Marko Šakarašvili and Kristjan Siilak, and master’s students Kristina Juhhimenko. His work involves collaboration with labs focused on supramolecular assemblies and sensor technologies.

Education:

• Doctoral Studies in Organic Chemistry (2012–2017) at Masaryk University

Projects:

• Adaptable supramolecular chirality sensors (2019–2023)
• Development of hemicucurbituril-porphyrin sensors (2021–2022)

Research Themes:

Ustrnul’s work focuses on designing chiral sensors via supramolecular interactions between porphyrins and hemicucurbiturils. He explores self-assembly mechanisms, enantioselective detection of pollutants, and solid-phase extraction of sulfur compounds. Recent studies highlight mechanochemical synthesis of chiral hemicucurbiturils and their applications in gravimetric sensors.

Labs/Teams:

Active in Tallinn University’s supramolecular chemistry group, collaborating on EU-funded sensor development and Estonian Research Council projects.