Synthetic Bioactive Surfaces

In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP), the Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT) and the Institute of Physical Biochemistry of the University of Potsdam we study new bioactive surfaces from their theoretical aspects until their pre-industrial development. The development of smart tailor-made synthetic surfaces capable to interact on demand with biological systems such as nucleic acids, proteins, enzymes or cells is an important emerging field in modern biotechnology. This topic is crucial both from the fundamental and applied point of view. It requires numerous scientific skills at the interface between synthetic chemistry, physical-chemistry, applied-physics and biology. Therefore, future breakthroughs in this area cannot be expected from isolated research teams but will depend on strong interdisciplinary networks.
Within the focus of this project, we are investigating the fundamental physical and chemical properties behind the interaction of biomolecules with synthetic nanomaterials to determine the extent and the nature of such interactions.