Institute of Biochemistry (DCH/BC)

Biochemie

Major research topics at the institute of biochemistry are glycobiology (glycoprotein analysis - Altmann, glycobiology of invertebrates - Staudacher, molecular glycobiology - Wilson), protein biochemistry (Furtmüller, Hofbauer, Obinger, Traxlmayr) and NanoGlycobiology (Schäffer).

Projects of the glycobiology groups deal with biosynthesis, structure and function of protein-linked glycans. Of particular interest are the roles of such carbohydrates in biomedical applications of glycoproteins and in physiological contexts such as embryogenesis or pathogenesis (glycans of pathogens or as pathogen receptors) or as part of allergens.

Drawing from the areas of microbiology and molecular glycobiology the Schäffer Group is developing biological settings to assess structure-function relationships of natural compounds such as microbial glycans and secondary metabolites in contexts that are relevant to human health.