CeNS Colloquium

Prof. Tanja Weil
Institut für Organische Chemie III, Universität Ulm

Proteins represent nanoscopic macromolecules with high numbers of functional groups at their periphery as well as within their scaffold. Chemical modification allows manipulating their architecture, activity profile and in vitro characteristics. Albumin-based polycations facilitated very efficient gene transfection (Biomaterials 2010) and have been applied as biofilms for immobilizing giant vesicles as well as living cells (Biointerphases 2010). Recently, unique PEO-grafted polypeptides were achieved revealing attractive features such as an accurately known chain length and a defined number of functional groups at distinct locations within the polypeptide backbone, low size-dispersity as well as intrinsic biocompatibility. They allowed the cell-specific delivery of cytotoxic drug molecules into cells (Rap. Macromol. Commun. 2010) as well as stable surface coating of quantum dots (QDs) and ultrasmall fluorescent gold nanoparticles (JACS 2010). A significant influence of the pH on the fluorescence quantum yields of QDs was found which is attractive for achieving biocompatible pH sensors.

¹ L. Zoephel, K. Eisele, R. A. Gropeanu, A. Rouhanipour, K. Koynov, I. Lieberwirth, K. Muellen, T. Weil*, Macromol. Chem. Phys. 211, 2, 146-153, 2010.
² K. Eisele, R. Gropeanu, A. Musante, C. Li, K. Muellen, T. Weil*, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2010, 31, 15011508.
³ K. Eisele, R. A. Gropeanu, C. R. Zehendner, A. Rouhanipour, A. Ramanathan, G. Mihov, K. Koynov, C. R. W. Kuhlmann, S. Vasudevan, H. J. Luhmann, T. Weil*, Biomaterials 31, 33, 8789-8801, 2010.
⁴ Y. Wu, S. Chakrabortty, R. A. Gropeanu, J. Wilhelmi, X. Yang, K. S. Er, S. L. Kuan, K. Koynov, Y. Chan, T. Weil*, J. Am. Chem Soc. 132, 14, 50125014, 2010.