Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

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Research and projects

Summary of the research program

The rich versatility and the variable properties and functions of macromolecules are based on the one hand on a large variety of different monomers but on the other hand on the fact that polymers are able to self-assemble in organized structures, encoded in the chemical sequence of the polymer chains. In simple cases of self-assembly, the only constraint is the chain connectivity, leading to the existence of largely universal properties independent of the specific chemistry. But there are many important open and challenging problems in polymer science which are characterized by strong correlations between local structure and global conformation of the chain. In the CRC TRR 102 we investigate such processes of structure formation and self-assembly of chain molecules, for which the formation of molecular structures and the molecular dynamics are affected in addition to connectivity by constraints, such as specific internal interactions, external forces, geometrical confinement, crowding or topological restrictions.

Two prominent examples for such processes and central topics of the CRC are crystallization in the area of synthetic polymers and the formation of amyloids in the area of biopolymers. In both cases larger scale structures form, driven by the formation of local molecular order and constrained by the connectivity of the chains. The resulting structures are thus only partially ordered and of nanoscopic size in one or several directions. Both processes have universal features, but different from crystallization, amyloid formation is connected to specific interaction. In the CRC we study these and other related processes of structure formation and the properties of the resulting structures with the aim to work out and understand the fundamental, underlying physical principles. To achieve this aim we combine expertize from chemistry, experimental and theoretical physics, and biophysics using a large variety of experimental techniques and theoretical approaches based on simulations on different scales and levels of complexity.

Projects:

A01Effects of topological constraints in polymer melts on crystallization and structure formationThurn-Albrecht, Saalwächter

MLU

A03Crystallization and cooperativity in dynamic supramolecular polymersBinder

MLU

A06NMR Investigations of the Self-Organization and Dynamics of Amyloid Protein FibrilsHuster

UL

A07Intra- and intermolecular structure formation in the presence of specific interactionsPaul

MLU

A08Organization and interactions of eye-lens crystallins: native states and cataract formationSaalwächter, Balbach

MLU

A09Structure formation and aggregation of solvated peptides and polymers in the presence of ionsSebastiani

MLU

A12Assembly of PTH/polymer hybridmoleculesBalbach, Binder

MLU

B01Aggregation and Self-Assembly of Amyloid Systems and Functionalized Peptides near Interfaces - Towards Molecular Mechanisms and Smart MaterialsAbel

IOM

B03Substrate-induced molecular order and nucleation in polymer thin filmsThurn-Albrecht

MLU

B04Nanopatterns of MacromoleculesJanke

UL

B07Semicrystalline Homopolymers and Block Copolymers at the Air/Water Interface and in Langmuir-Blodgett Films on Solid SupportsKreßler

MLU

B08Refined Infrared Spectroscopy to Study Molecular Orientation and Order in Heterogeneous Polymer SystemsKremer

UL

B10Interactions of single polymer chains and Amyloid fibrils in a thermophoretic trapCichos

UL

B12Mechanisms of early amyloid formation and the confining influence of macromolecular crowdingOttMLU
B14Structure formation in linear precision and comb-like polymers under external constraints: Influence of shear fields and interfacesBeinerIMWS
B15Dynamics and association in individualized macromoleculesTress

UL

B16Crystallization of polymer chains under anisotropic confinement in liquid crystalsMendes Ferreira

MLU

B17Force-induced α-β transitions in coiled coil structuresBlank

MPI

B18Molecular ion deposition for the generation of peptide and polymer surface layersWarnekeUL
Z01Synthesis of Labeled and Unlabeled Peptides with Difficult Sequences in Large ScalesRothemund

UL

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