Research
Research at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy
Molecular materials
Energy
We focus on the behavior and interactions of molecules and materials thereof, particularly in (photo-) chemical reactions, for energy conversion, storage, and release. We investigate and exploit fundamental principles for applications in (electro-) catalysis, photovoltaics, and batteries.
ResearchersInformation
We design, store, and exploit information in the form of chemical entities. Molecular and nanoscale building blocks are explored and used as programmable units. Information in matter means that we make materials identifiable, interactive and communicating and equip them with the ability to sense and record.
ResearchersLife Science
We research molecules and materials for interaction with biological systems.
This starts by deciphering the molecular basis of life. These insights are utilized in drug discovery, theranostics, and food science. Life science also includes the engineering of biomaterials and biomimetic systems.
Sustainability
We enable sustainable chemical synthesis and production processes. Sustainability includes the design of energy-efficient chemical transformation processes, catalytic processes with minimized and environmentally friendly materials footprint. Further, it includes the development of new concepts that reduce the use of critical materials, replace them, or allow for their recycling and circularity.
ResearchersBioactive compounds
Bioanalytics
We bundle scientific expertise and large-scale equipment in the fields of protein- and proteome-, bioactive compound- and metabolome-analysis as well as biomolecular and functional analysis. We develop innovative methods and novel analytical concepts to create comprehensive molecular fingerprints of complex systems.
ResearchersFormulations
We develop innovative concepts for the quality-controlled and sustainable formulation of bioactive compounds to improve efficiency, cell specific targeting, pharmacokinetics. Additionally, we focus on biopharmaceutical systems according to the 3R principle to investigate the life cycle of drug delivery systems and the influence of physiological environments.
ResearchersMechanisms and targets
We investigate molecular structure and function of human proteins, which will serve as novel targets for bioactive compounds and elucidate the role of these target proteins in signal transduction and study target-ligand interaction. We exploit the new knowledge on target proteins and target-induced signal transduction to develop novel drugs and new concepts for health promoting food.
ResearchersCompound discovery
We focus on the design and generation of new bioactive compounds based on latest scientific evidence on pharmacological mechanism of action. We also develop innovative strategies for the rational discovery of new bioactive food compounds.
Researchers