Heske, J.; Walczak, R.; Epping, J. D.; Youk, S.; Sahoo, S. K.; Antonietti, M.; Kühne, T. D.; Oschatz, M.: When water becomes an integral part of carbon – combining theory and experiment to understand the zeolite-like water adsorption properties of porous C2N materials. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 9 (39), pp. 22563 - 22572 (2021)
Hwang, J.; Zhang, W.; Youk, S.; Schutjajew, K.; Oschatz, M.: Understanding structure-property relationships under experimental conditions for the optimization of lithium ion capacitor anodes based on all-carbon-composite materials. Energy Technology 9 (3), 2001054 (2021)
Youk, S.; Hofmann, J. P.; Badamdorj, B.; Völkel, A.; Antonietti, M.; Oschatz, M.: Controlling pore size and pore functionality in sp2-conjugated microporous materials by precursor chemistry and salt templating. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 8 (41), pp. 21680 - 21689 (2020)
Youk, S.: Molecular design of heteroatom-doped nanoporous carbons with controlled porosity and surface polarity for gas physisorption and energy storage. Dissertation, 145 pp., Universität, Potsdam (2022)
The Department of Sustainable and Bio-Inspired Materials (SBM) was one of 24 teams selected from over 270 applicants for the Best Research Environment Award, launched in 2024 by Die Junge Akademie and the Volkswagen Foundation.
We left the lab coat hanging for a day—but brought our lab equipment with us to meet more than 8,200 visitors. At our 10 stations, we showcased how we learn from nature to develop sustainable solutions—from dye- and pigment-free colors to bio-inspired materials for construction, medicine, and design.
Challenge: It's not just whether a membrane is in a "solid" or "liquid" state that matters—how tightly its molecules are packed also influences how protein-rich droplets (condensates) stick to it Finding: More tightly packed membranes push away condensates, while loosely packed ones attract them Impact: Understanding these interactions is key to grasping essential cellular functions and disease progression
Supported by the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the UK Guarantee Scheme, the 'Condensates at Membrane Scaffolds – Integrated Systems as Synthetic Cell Compartments’ doctoral network seeks 17 PhD candidates. This international and interdisciplinary program aims to train future biomedical and biotechnology researchers to explore cellular…
Biomolecular condensates may play a crucial but overlooked role in remodeling membrane structures within cells. Rumiana Dimova and her team demonstrated that these droplets can shape parts of the endoplasmic reticulum into nanotubes and double-membrane discs without the need for specific curvature-molding proteins.
Imagine switching on a light and being able to understand and control the inner dynamics of a cell. This is what the Dimova group has achieved: by shining lights of different colors on replicates of cells, they altered the interactions between cellular elements. Controlling these complex interactions enables us to deliver specific drugs directly into the cells.
Little is known yet about the interaction between these biomolecular condensate droplets and the membrane-bound organelles. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam developed synthetic membraneless organelles and visualized what happens when they meet a membrane.
Prof Silvia Vignolini, Ph.D. is establishing the new Department "Sustainable and Bio-inspired Materials". She is working at the interface of physics, chemistry, biology and materials science and perfectly complements the institute's profile of research on chemistry, materials and sustainability.