Adaptive Nanomedicine
Formation of Nanocapsules
Lead:
- Katharina Landfester
Focus areas:
Adaptive Nanocarriers for Nanomedicine
Lead:
- Volker Mailänder
Focus areas:
- Nanocapsules & liposomes
- Protein corona engineering
- Stimuli-responsive & light-triggered release
- Translational nanomedicine & immunotherapy
- Blood-barrier
- Proteomics
- Translation into cells and organisms in (cancer) immunology
To realize our mission, this group develops nanocarriers as truly adaptive delivery systems towards natural cells and organisms. By tailoring protein interactions, stimuli-responsiveness, and targeting strategies, these nanocarriers dynamically adjust to physiological cues and communicate with their surroundings. They embody life-inspired adaptivity in action—reconfiguring their identity to enable precision delivery, overcoming critical challenges such as blood–brain barrier passage, and establishing the foundations of next-generation nanomedicine.
Dynamic Biointerfaces
Lead(s) & co-leads:
- Svenja Morsbach
- Ingo Lieberwirth
Focus areas:
- Membrane modulation & phase separation
- Protein interactions to interfaces
- Cryo-TEM / Advanced characterization
Interfaces & Bio-Interactions (Svenja Morsbach)
In line with our mission to design adaptive molecular systems that mimic life and enable next-generation nanomedicine, this group investigates how biomolecules interact with soft and dynamic interfaces applying state-of-the-art polymer analytics techniques. By revealing how proteins adsorb and reorganize on nanocarriers and interact with their building blocks, we uncover how biological identity itself becomes an adaptive property. Understanding the biomedical consequences of those interactions provides the basis for engineering nanocarriers and artificial cells that dynamically adjust their surface and function to biological environments.
Interfaces and Structure Formation (Ingo Lieberwirth)
Achieving adaptive molecular systems requires a deep structural understanding. This group advances cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and related techniques to visualize molecular assemblies in their native state. By directly resolving how peptides, polymers, nanocarriers, and artificial cells organize at the nanoscale, they uncover the structural principles that govern responsiveness and function. These insights provide the foundation for designing adaptive, life-like systems with tailored properties.
Sensing
Lead(s):
- Stanislav Balouchev
Focus areas:
- Fluorogenic probes, oxygen/pH sensors
- Intracellular & extracellular nanocarrier tracking
Adaptivity also requires sensing—the ability to perceive and respond to the environment. This group develops nanocarriers that act as adaptive sensors, translating molecular interactions and environmental changes into measurable signals. By integrating life-inspired sensing mechanisms, they provide tools to monitor adaptivity at the nanoscale and to advance diagnostic and therapeutic applications.