The Minnes Lab - Bioelectromagnetism laboratory

Physics Department, Ariel University

"Only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.", Albert Einstein

photodynamic therapy (PDT)

photodynamic therapy (PDT)

HNP (Harmonic Nanoparticle) – PS (photosensitizer) conjugate: using SHG (Second Harmonic Generation) for the improvement of PDT (Photo-Dynamic Therapy) treatment

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Developing an IR spectroscopic method to determine the metastatic potential of cancer cells

Developing an IR spectroscopic method to determine the metastatic potential of cancer cells

Using Attenuated Total Reflection - Fourier Transform Infra-Red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to distinguish between melanoma cells with a different metastatic potential

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Developing an indirect method for analyzing the composition of urinary stone

Developing an indirect method for analyzing the composition of urinary stone

Fiber-optic Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy (FEWS) of crystals from a urine sample as a tool for evaluating the chemical composition of kidney stones

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Ultra-high efficiency nanocrystal solar cells

Ultra-high efficiency nanocrystal solar cells

A unique multi-layer device architecture to achieve ultra-high-efficiency nanocrystals solar cells.

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Exploring the mechanism of cell-cell interactions in nerve cells

Exploring the mechanism of cell-cell interactions in nerve cells

Investigating the architecture of neural network to learn about the mechanism of cell-cell interactions in nerve cells

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Supercapacitors

Supercapacitors

Developement and chracterization of semiconducting nanomaterials and nanoarchitecture as supercapacitor electrode. Lab reserach having goal to design an electrode for high-performance supercapacitors using the layer-by-layer method.

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Particle Count Generator Program

Particle Count Generator Program

software that, after identifying the particles in the image, evaluates the size of the particles and their size distribution (segmentation).

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Refael Minnes, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Michal Amar Sharon, Ph.D.

Lab Manager

Ayan Barbora, Ph.D.

Research Fellow

Svetlana Lyssenko

Research Fellow

Girish Patil

Ph.D. student

Chandradip Jadhav

Ph.D. student

Samuel Abuh

Ph.D. student

Efrat Hochma

Ph.D. student

Monday Paul

Ph.D. student

Olusola Fatoki

Ph.D. student

Vadim Nave

Master student

Daniel Abu Fares

Master student

Devir Cohen

Lab engineer

Lakshmana Kumar Bommineedi, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral researcher

Alina Sermiagin, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral researcher

Manu Kumar

Master student

Inbar Dahari

Master student

Articles

Abuh, S. O., Lyssenko, S., Barbora, A., Hovor, I., Nakonechny, F., & Minnes, R. (2025). Antibacterial Property of Lead Telluride Quantum Dot Layer Fabricated on Glass Substrate. PLOS One


Feigin, L., Gover, A., Minnes, R., & Nause, A. (2025). Tapering enhanced superradiance with a planar magnetic undulator. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. https://doi.org/10.1103/ygzx-6my6 


Sesu, D. C., Porat, H., Lal, A., Dutta, A., Yadav, M. K., Minnes, R., & Borenstein, A. (2025). A laser-induced catalyst for the electrosynthesis of Ammonia. Nanoscale. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5nr01544h


Lyssenko, S., Amar, M., Sermiagin, A., & Minnes, R. (2025a). Carboxylic ligands and their influence on the structural properties of PbTe Quantum Dots. PLOS One, 20(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328972


Hochma, E., Firer, M. A., & Minnes, R. (2025). Near-infrared and Sono-enhanced photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer cells using Phyto-second harmonic generation nanoconjugates. Polymers, 17(13), 1831. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17131831


Patil, G. P., Jadhav, C. D., Lyssenko, S., & Minnes, R. (2025). 2d nanocoin structure with binder-free CUS electrode for flexible symmetric solid-state supercapacitors. Electrochimica Acta, 519, 145845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2025.145845


Kumar, M., Jukanti, A., Cahan, R., Nause, A., & Minnes, R. (2025). Second harmonic generation-mediated photodynamic therapy for Staphylococcus aureus: A novel approach using bismuth ferrite-protoporphyrin IX conjugates. Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy, 52, 104512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdpdt.2025.104512


Lyssenko, S., Amar, M., Sermiagin, A., & Minnes, R. (2025b). PBTE quantum dots highly packed monolayer fabrication by a spin coating method. PLOS ONE, 20(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317677


Lyssenko, S., Amar, M., Sermiagin, A., Barbora, A., & Minnes, R. (2025). Tailoring pbte quantum dot size and morphology via ligand composition. Scientific Reports, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-86026-7


Porat, H., Lal, A., Dutta, A., Yadav, M. K., Sesu, D. C., Minnes, R., & Borenstein, A. (2025). Nickel-oxide embedded laser-induced graphene for high-performance supercapacitors. Nanoscale, 17(4), 2243–2251. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4nr03227f


Jadhav, C. D., Patil, G. P., Lyssenko, S., & Minnes, R. (2025). Hot-injected ligand-free snte nanoparticles: A cost-effective route to flexible symmetric supercapacitors. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 13(4), 2822–2835. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ta07111e


Jadhav, C. D., Patil, G. P., Amar, M., Lyssenko, S., & Minnes, R. (2024). Unveiling potential of SNS nanoflakes: A flexible solid-state symmetric supercapacitive device. Journal of Power Sources, 623, 235496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2024.235496


Patil, G. P., Jadhav, C. D., Lyssenko, S., & Minnes, R. (2024). Hydrothermally synthesized copper telluride nanoparticles: First Approach to flexible solid-state symmetric supercapacitor. Chemical Engineering Journal, 498, 155284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.155284


Patil, G. P., Jadhav, C. D., Lyssenko, S., Borenstein, A., & Minnes, R. (2024). Exploring one-pot colloidal synthesis of klockmannite cuse nanosheet electrode for symmetric solid-state supercapacitor device. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 12(36), 14404–14420. https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tc02727b


Jadhav, C. D., Patil, G. P., Lyssenko, S., Borenstein, A., & Minnes, R. (2024). Electrolyte-dependent performance of SnSe nanosheets electrode for Supercapacitors. Journal of Energy Storage, 94, 112364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2024.112364


Hochma, E., Ishai, P. B., Firer, M. A., & Minnes, R. (2024). Phyto-photodynamic therapy of prostate cancer cells mediated by Yemenite ‘etrog’ leave extracts. Nutrients, 16(12), 1820. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16121820


Abuh, S. O., Barbora, A., & Minnes, R. (2024). Metastasis diagnosis using attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infra-red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. PLOS ONE, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304071


Barbora, A., Karri, S., Firer, M. A., & Minnes, R. (2023). Multifractal analysis of cellular ATR-FTIR spectrum as a method for identifying and quantifying cancer cell metastatic levels. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46014-1


Hendler, R. M., Weiss, O. E., Morad, T., Sion, G., Kirby, M., Dubinsky, Z., Barbora, A., Minnes, R., & Baranes, D. (2023). A poly-D-lysine-coated coralline matrix promotes hippocampal neural precursor cells’ differentiation into GFAP-positive astrocytes. Polymers, 15(20), 4054. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15204054


Dutta, A., Breuer, O., Krishnappa, M., Minnes, R., Zak, A., & Borenstein, A. (2023). 1D transition-metal dichalcogenides/carbon core–shell composites for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 11(40), 21806–21816. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ta04416e


Barbora, A., Lyssenko, S., Amar, M., Nave, V., Zivan, V., Argaev Frenkel, L., Nause, A., Cohen-Harazi, R., & Minnes, R. (2023). Optimizing the average distance between a blue light photosensitizer and a harmonic nanoparticle for Effective Infrared Photodynamic therapy. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 303, 123195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.saa.2023.123195


Barbora, A., Yazbak, F., Lyssenko, S., Nave, V., Nakonechny, F., Ben Ishai, P., & Minnes, R. (2022). Second harmonic generation nanoparticles enables near-infrared photodynamic therapy from visible light reactive photosensitizer conjugates. PLOS ONE, 17(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274954


Feng, Z., Jadhav, C. D., Patil, G. P., Wang, Y., Zhang, C., Baviskar, V. S., Jia, Z., & Minnes, R. (2022). Solution processed 2d snse nanosheets catalysts: Temperature dependent oxygen reduction reaction performance in Alkaline Media. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 916, 116381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116381


Dahari, I., Baranes, D., & Minnes, R. (2021). Automatic identification of dendritic branches and their orientation. Journal of Visualized Experiments, (175). https://doi.org/10.3791/62679


Barbora, A., & Minnes, R. (2021). Targeted antiviral treatment using non-ionizing radiation therapy for SARS-COV-2 and viral pandemics preparedness: Technique, methods and practical notes for Clinical Application. PLOS ONE, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251780


Barbora, A., Bohar, O., Sivan, A. A., Magory, E., Nause, A., & Minnes, R. (2021). Higher pulse frequency of near-infrared laser irradiation increases penetration depth for novel biomedical applications. PLOS ONE, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245350


Morad, T., Hendler, R. M., Canji, E., Weiss, O. E., Sion, G., Minnes, R., Polaq, A. H., Merfeld, I., Dubinsky, Z., Nesher, E., & Baranes, D. (2020). Aragonite-polylysine: Neuro-regenerative scaffolds with diverse effects on astrogliosis. Polymers, 12(12), 2850. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12122850


Gancz, A., Zueva, Y., Weiss, O. E., Hendler, R. M., Minnes, R., & Baranes, D. (2020). Coralline skeleton biomaterial reduces phagocytosis in mouse blood in vitro. Israel Journal of Chemistry, 60(5–6), 586–592. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijch.201900151


Minnes, R., Brider, T., Goryachev, A., Grushchenko, A., Tor, R., Nevo, A., Lifshitz, D., Katzir, A., & Raichlin, Y. (2019). Fiber-optic evanescent wave spectroscopy (FEWS) of crystals from a urine sample as a tool for evaluating the chemical composition of Kidney Stones. Analytical Methods, 11(18), 2404–2409. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ay02663g


Morad, T. I., Hendler, R. M., Weiss, O. E., Canji, E. A., Merfeld, I., Dubinsky, Z., Minnes, R., Francis, Y. I., & Baranes, D. (2019). Gliosis of astrocytes cultivated on coral skeleton is regulated by the Matrix Surface Topography. Biomedical Materials, 14(4), 045005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-605x/ab0d69


Gilad, Y., Tuchinsky, H., Ben-David, G., Minnes, R., Gancz, A., Senderowitz, H., Luboshits, G., Firer, M. A., & Gellerman, G. (2017). Discovery of potent molecular chimera (CM358) to treat human metastatic melanoma. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 138, 602–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2017.06.066


Minnes, R., Nissinmann, M., Maizels, Y., Gerlitz, G., Katzir, A., & Raichlin, Y. (2017). Using attenuated total reflection–fourier transform infra-red (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy to distinguish between melanoma cells with a different metastatic potential. Scientific Reports, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04678-6


Scheffler, K., Minnes, R., Fraisier, V., Paoletti, A., & Tran, P. T. (2015). Microtubule minus end motors kinesin-14 and Dynein Drive Nuclear Congression in parallel pathways. Journal of Cell Biology, 209(1), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201409087


Kun, H., Minnes, R., & Mastai, Y. (2008). Effects antifreeze peptides on the thermotropic properties of a model membrane. Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, 40(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10863-008-9164-8


Minnes, R., Ytzhak, S., Weitman, H., & Ehrenberg, B. (2008). The effect of solution electrolytes on the uptake of photosensitizers by liposomal membranes: A salting-out effect. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids, 155(1), 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemphyslip.2008.06.002


Minnes, R., Weitman, H., You, Y., Detty, M. R., & Ehrenberg, B. (2008). Dithiaporphyrin derivatives as photosensitizers in membranes and cells. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 112(10), 3268–3276. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp0768423


Minnes, R., Weitman, H., & Ehrenberg, B. (2007). The effect of lipid composition, bilayer phase and temperature on the uptake of hematoporphyrin by liposomal membranes. Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, 11(08), 577–585. https://doi.org/10.1142/s1088424607000679


Minnes, R., Weitman, H., Lee, H., Gorun, S. M., & Ehrenberg, B. (2006). Enhanced acidity, photophysical properties and liposome binding of perfluoroalkylated phthalocyanines lacking C‐H bonds. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 82(2), 593–599. https://doi.org/10.1562/2005-11-08-ra-732


Book Chapters

  • Lakshmana Kumar Bommineedi, Nakul Upadhyay and Refael Minnes, 2023 "Screen Printing: An Ease Thin Film Technique." In: Babasaheb R. Sankapal, Ahmed Ennaoui, Ram B. Gupta and Chandrakant D. Lokhande, editors. Simple Chemical Methods for Thin Film Deposition: Synthesis and Applications, Springer Nature.


  • Tzachy Morad, Roni Mina Hendler, Eyal Canji, Orly Eva Weiss, Guy Sion, Refael Minnes, Ania Hava Grushchenko Polaq, Ido Merfeld, Zvy Dubinsky, Elimelech Nesher, and Danny Baranes, 2021 "Aragonite-Polylysine: Neuro-Regenerative Scaffolds with Diverse Effects on Astrogliosis." In: Monica Trif and Alexandru Vasile Rusu, editors. Prime Archive in Polymer Technology, Hyderabad, India: Vide Leaf.

Ph.D. student

The Bio-electromagnetism Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Refael Minnes is looking for a PhD student in the field of medical physics. The focus of the project is to use Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) to improve Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a treatment of various diseases and especially cancer.
  • You should have a MSc degree in physics, chemistry or biology. Experience in spectroscopic methods, image processing, programming and/or statistics is advantageous
  • You are ready to work in an interdisciplinary environment
  • You are interested in applying physical methods in biological and medical research.
  • You are fluent in English, both in writing and speaking
  • You have an independent and practical personality and ability to take initiatives
We are a multidisciplinary research team exploring the interactions of electromagnetic waves, specifically in the UV-Vis-IR range, with biological tissues and cells.
All opportunities a university department can offer such as scientific collaboration, education and training are available.

For additional information about a Ph.D. at the Ariel University, please visit:
https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/graduate-school/en/#.

Please send your complete application electronically to Dr. Refael Minnes. We request a letter of motivation, and your CV plus transcripts of BSc, MSc grades or equivalent.
Apply Now

Post-Doc researcher

The Bio-electromagnetism Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Refael Minnes is looking for a Post-Doc researcher in the field of medical physics. The post-doc will use UV-Vis-IR spectroscopic methods with biological tissues and cells.
  • You should have a Ph.D. degree in physics, chemistry or biology with experience in spectroscopic methods.
  • Experience in photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an advantage.
  • You are ready to work in an interdisciplinary environment.
  • You are interested in applying physical methods in biological and medical research.
  • You are fluent in English, both in writing and speaking
  • You have an independent and practical personality and ability to take
We are a multidisciplinary research team exploring the interactions of electromagnetic waves, specifically in the UV-Vis-IR range, with biological tissues and cells.
All opportunities a university department can offer such as scientific collaboration, education and training are available.

For additional information about an employment at the Ariel University, please visit https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/graduate-school/en/#.

Please send your complete application electronically to Dr. Refael Minnes. We request a letter of motivation, and your CV plus transcripts of BSc, MSc and PhD grades or equivalent.
Apply Now

Ph.D. student

The Bio-electromagnetism Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Refael Minnes is looking for a Ph.D. student in the field of medical physics. In this project we intend to develop a new technique that will allow us to visualize cancer cells according to their metastatic level.
  • You should have a master degree in physics, chemistry or biology with experience in spectroscopic methods.
  • Experience in FTIR microscopy is an advantage.
  • You are ready to work in an interdisciplinary environment.
  • You are interested in applying physical methods in biological and medical research.
  • You are fluent in English, both in writing and speaking
  • You have an independent and practical personality and ability to take initiatives
We are a multidisciplinary research team exploring the interactions of electromagnetic waves, specifically in the UV-Vis-IR range, with biological tissues and cells. All opportunities a university department can offer such as scientific collaboration, education and training are available.

For additional information about a Ph.D. at the Ariel University, please visit:
https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/graduate-school/en/#.

Please send your complete application electronically to Dr. Refael Minnes. We request a letter of motivation, and your CV plus transcripts of BSc, MSc grades or equivalent.
Apply Now
  • Lab fun day - July 2023

  • Lab fun day - September 2024

  • Lab BBQ - March 2025

  • Ramat HaGolan St 65, Ari'el

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