Max Planck Institutes and Experts

To increase the efficiency of medication, carrier particles could soon deliver pharmaceutical substance exclusively to special target cells in an organism. For an understanding of these targeting processes model-based simulation studies are very helpful. The modeling of the biocolloidal systems is based on foundations from particle technology. Result: Despite substantial scattering of the experimental data, central parameters were identified. It was found that most drug targeting processes are rate limited due to the low receptor concentration on the surface of the target cells.

A concept is put forward which should allow for the realization of functional nano-systems by means of self-assembly of soft matter. The choice of soft matter suggests itself from the fact that nature chose that class of materials for the development of life. It is demonstrated that gel-emulsions with a well-defined droplet size, which self-assemble in defined geometric environments in a predictable way, are in fact suitable for the implementation of complex function.

Methods of molecular quantum optics allow one to probe to what extent elementary quantum mechanical phenomena can be observed with complex objects and on large scales. The considered quantum effects range from spatially delocalized molecules consisting of more than one hundred atoms to the demonstration of quantum entanglement with respect to macroscopically distinguishable properties.

Chemical transformations of matter often are composed in a complicated way by elementary chemical processes. Such processes may be separated in the laboratory and characterized with respect to their time dependence, their kinetics and dynamics. The results enter large data bases which are used for modelling of complex natural phenomena as well as for optimization of technical systems. Reactions of hydrogen atoms with molecular oxygen, fragmentations of molecular ions and reactions of electrons with sulphur hexafluoride are chosen as illustrative examples.

The synthesis of chemically modified RNA is often a prerequisite for biophysical investigations of RNA and RNA-protein interactions. Solid-phase synthesis enables site-specific modification of relatively short RNA oligonucleotides. Larger modified RNA targets are accessible by a combination of chemical and enzymatic approaches. DNA enzymes are artificial catalytically active DNA molecules that have been identified by in vitro selection from random DNA pools. DNA enyzmes can be used for the ligation of RNA fragments and are currently developed into tools for the direct modification of RNA.