Prof. Dr. Andreas Walther

The Walther Lab develops life-like materials and systems that integrate chemical dynamics, mechanics, and information processing to achieve adaptive, autonomous, and interactive behavior. Positioned at the interface of polymer science, DNA nanotechnology, and non-equilibrium soft matter, the Max Planck Fellowship contributes unique expertise on chemically intelligent material systems to the MPI-P Mission on Assembly and Interfaces.

Mechanical Materials with Embedded Information Processing

A central research direction is the development of mechanical materials that embed information processing directly into their structure and dynamics, enabling autonomous function without external control. This concept of physical intelligence was demonstrated through soft robotic engines with non-reciprocal motion, in which material-encoded asymmetries convert isotropic energy input into directed motion. In a complementary approach, the group developed mechano-adaptive meta-gels that synergistically integrate chemical and physical information processing. These materials embed complex chemical signal transduction based on autocatalytic amplification and combine this with metamaterial concepts to achieve programmable signal activation and adaptation. Together with the Dept. Gräter, we are now advancing an experiment–simulation framework for polymer mechanochemistry with the mission of embedding memories and training into materials.

DNA-Based Artificial Cells with Metabolic Information Processing

A second major focus is the development of DNA-based artificial cells as programmable platforms to study the foundations of nucleic acid phase separation, information processing, as well as mechanical function and transport. In a key contribution, the group identified ballistic diffusion fronts in biomolecular condensates, revealing an unexpected transport regime that fundamentally differs from classical diffusion in dense, phase-separated systems. A collaboration with the Dept. Bonn enabled a deeper understanding using advanced spectroscopy tools. Building on this insight, the team demonstrated the construction of synthetic nuclear architectures by organizing transcriptional condensates within DNA protonuclei. This work shows how spatial confinement and transcriptional activity can be coupled in fully synthetic systems. Further increasing structural complexity, we designed functional artificial cytoskeletons within DNA-based synthetic cells and could characterize the mechanical reinforcement leveraging the Dept. Butt expertise on AFM force spectroscopy.

Biointeractive Materials for Reciprocal Communication

A third research thrust addresses biointeractive materials that enable reciprocal communication with living cells, with a strong emphasis on mechanobiology and non-equilibrium signaling. Here, we share a major conceptual interest with Depts. Weil and Landfester. We developed nuclease-resistant L-DNA tension probes that allow long-term force mapping of single cells and multicellular assemblies, overcoming stability limitations of conventional DNA force sensors. This approach was extended to synthetic aptamer-based mechanoreceptors that combine cell-specific force sensing with programmable temporal control via DNA reaction networks. These developments represent important steps toward reciprocal communication via mechanoreceptor systems in eukaryotic cells, enabling, in the long term, coupling to DNA-based computing for closed-loop adaptation.

These examples and collaborative efforts highlight the integration and meaningful strengthening of the MPI-P portfolio toward life-like matter, adding in particular concepts for information-processing in mechanomaterials, as well as DNA-based programmable matter. The joint efforts in the area of biomaterials have resulted in the funding of a joint Carl Zeiss Breakthrough Program (5 M EUR, 5 years) on neural regeneration, thereby demonstrating another facet of the impact of this MPI Fellowship.