Our Departments
The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces was founded in 1992. Research in Colloid and Interface Science is widely covered by the following Departments: Biomaterials, Biomolecular Systems, Colloid Chemistry, Theory & Bio-Systems and the Max Planck Research Group Mechano(bio)chemistry. Current research topics include complex carbohydrate molecules, molecular force sensors and motors, mesoscopic hybrid systems, biomimetic membranes and vesicles as well as the development of carbohydrate-based vaccines and intelligent biomaterials.
Biomimetic research is at the core of the Institute’s activity. Common goal is to learn from nature how to build hierarchical materials or active systems with new functionalities, with adaptive, self-healing or self-assembling properties.
Interdisciplinary research in the field of biological and biomimetic materials. The emphasis is on understanding how the mechanical or other physical properties are governed by structure and composition and how they adopt to environmental conditions.
[more]
Our research program is focused on elucidating the role of complex oligosaccharides involved in a host of biological processes of medical relevance by employing molecular tools created by synthetic chemistry.
[more]
Synthesis of various colloidal structures in the nanometre range. This includes inorganic and metallic nanoparticles, polymers and peptide structural units, their micelles and organised phases, as well as emulsions and foams.
[more]
Structure and dynamics of molecules, colloids and nanoparticles in biological and biomimetic systems. The molecular building blocks of these systems assemble "by themselves" and form a variety of supramolecular nanostructures, which then interact to produce even larger structures and networks.
[more]
operate outside of the departmental structure of the Institute. Young scientists lead these groups.
[more]
Mechano(bio)chemistry
The Department of Interfaces was closed on February 1st, 2014 with the retirement of Helmuth Möhwald (
† 27.3.2018).
[more]
