Nanobiomedicine

In the Nanobiomedicine focus area, research is conducted on the synthesis and characterisation of novel polymeric and inorganic nanoparticles, their potential biomedical applications and their interaction with biological systems. The DFG sponsored Research Training Group “Biointerface" (GRK 1035) not only involving RWTH researchers but also scientists from the DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials was an important starting point for this type of research. Another important ingredient of the Nanobiomedicine focus area is nanoscale biology conducted within the Research Training Group “Mechanobiology” (GRK 2415). The same applies to tissue engineering, where the creation of scaffolds increasingly depends on nanotechnological manufacturing methods and/or the incorporation of nanoparticles into these scaffolds. These approaches render the resulting materials responsive to internal and external triggers. Intelligent nanoscale materials that react to a stimulus (e.g. magnetic, electrical or to their environment) to produce dynamic and reversible changes in critical properties have enabled enormous advances in diagnostics and therapy, including imaging and the controlled release of therapeutic heat and/or drugs. Examples of our research include the development of traditional biotherapeutic agents such as engineered proteins, antibodies, antibody fragments and antibody-drug conjugates (typically between 5 and 25 nm), and the development of larger nanosystems, such as liposomes, polymer-conjugates, polymeric micelles, protein capsules, inorganic nanoparticles based on gold and iron oxide as well as polymeric nano- and microgels and nano- and micromaterials based on nucleic acids. All these efforts are supported by the Research Training Group "Tumor-targeted Drug Delivery" and the Collaborative Research Center "Microgels" besides a number of prestigious personal grants awarded to nanobio-scientists (e.g. ERC Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants).