Department für Nanobiotechnologie (DNBT)

- Hybrid polymer/lipid bilayers are interesting alternatives to lipid-based membrane models in many fields of science. - The tuneable polymeric component allows for fine adjustments of the resulting hybrid bilayers (e.g. thickness, % PEGylation). - Reducing the polymer MW to values closer to the lipids´one, results in hybrid bilayers with a lipid-like spreading behavior.

Seit dem COVID-19-Ausbruch besteht die unmittelbare Notwendigkeit, seine Ausbreitung zu kontrollieren, insbesondere durch die Entwicklung einer wirksamen Impfung. Am Department für Nanobiotechnologie wird ein "Nano-Trojaner" entwickelt, der über die Nasenschleimhaut eine Immunisierung gegen das COVID-19-Virus hervorrufen soll. Anders als bei den meisten untersuchten Impfstoffentwicklungen schlagen die Forscher des Instituts für Synthetische Bioarchitekturen die Herstellung von S-Layer-coronavirus-Spike-Protein-Fusionsproteinen zur Verwendung als immunogene Zusammensetzung für eine intranasale und orale Applikation vor.

Prof. Bernhard Schuster from Institut for Synthetic Bioarchitectures is among the most important topic editors and with 44 publications main contributor to the development and understanding of this fundamental research area.

Macrophages are critical players in host response, remodeling and degradation. However, an assessment tool to evaluate the degradation of biodegradable materials in a more physiological environment is still needed. Dr Marjan Enayati (Medical University Vienna) has developed an in vitro model based on monocyte-derived macrophage cell culture that allows long-term analysis of degradation and mechanical properties of polyurethanes (TPU). Professor José Luis Toca-Herrera and Dr Jagoba Iturri from Institute for Biophysics (Department of Nanobiotechnology) contributed to the detection of surface defects in the fibrous structure of these scaffolds as degradation proceeds, mediated by activated macrophages both in vitro and in vivo, by employing Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy techniques.

The Institute for Biologically Inspired Materials is hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as others. Our laboratories are closed, but scientific work proceeds for now apace in home office where everyone is safe and sound. While doing so, we reflect on our role in society and give a shout-out to what makes science the most significant and aggrandizing long-running endeavor of humanity.