Konrad Maxeiner

Scientific Staff

Department of Synthesis of Macromolecules
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
317

Main Focus

I would like to investigate the reaction cascade of bioactive molecules inside tumor spheroids by using mass spectrometry imaging to obtain spatiotemporal information about the activation processes and understand the resulting interactions between synthetic and cellular structures.

Curriculum Vitae

Konrad studied Biomedical Chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz (Germany) and completed his Master's degree in 2019. During his time as a master's student, he worked in the group of Prof. Damien Thévenin at Lehigh University, Bethlehem (USA) as a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow, funded by a PROMOS scholarship, focusing on the targeted treatment of cancer cells using pH-responsive peptides. For his master's thesis, Konrad worked in the RNA Formulation and Drug Delivery department at BioNTech in Mainz (Germany) under the supervision of Dr. Heinrich Haas. From May 2020 to October 2025, Konrad completed his Ph.D. in Prof. Tanja Weil’s research group under the supervision of Dr. David Ng. As part of his doctoral research, he worked on strategies for the controlled intracellular assembly of bioactive architectures, focusing on the interactions of synthetic structures with cellular structures and processes, including energy metabolism.

Since November 2025, Konrad has been working as postdoctoral scientist in Prof. Tanja Weil’s research group under Dr. Seah Ling Kuan, investigating the distribution of bioactive substances in tumor spheroids using mass spectrometry imaging.

Selected Publications

Chagri, S.^‡; Maxeiner, K.^‡; [...] Landfester, K.; Wagner, M.; Ng, D.Y.W.; Weil, T.; Intracellular Formation of Synthetic Peptide Nanostructures Causes Mitochondrial Disruption and Cell Death in Tumor Spheroids; Advanced Science; (2025); 12, 241266.
Ren, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Maxeiner, K. […] Landfester, K.; Lieberwirth, I.; Weil, T.; Ng, D.Y.W.; Journal of the American Chemical Society; (2024); 146 (17), 11991-11999.
Zhou, Z.; Maxeiner, K.; [...] Landfester, K.; Lieberwirth, I.; Ng, D.Y.W.; Weil, T.; In Situ Assembly of Platinum(II)-Metallopeptide Nanostructures Disrupts Energy Homeostasis and Cellular Metabolism; Journal of the American Chemical; (2022); 144, (27), 12219-1222.
Zhou, Z.^‡; Maxeiner, K.^‡; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.; Polymer Chemistry in Living Cells; Accounts of Chemical Research; (2022); 55(20): 2998-3009.