Life
What keeps a cell alive? How does an enzyme recognize its substrate, how does a plant protect itself from a pathogen, and why do proteins fold in exactly one single functional way? These fundamental questions drive the researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Using the tools of modern chemistry, they investigate how biological function arises from structure and intermolecular interaction: through high-resolution structural analysis of proteins and nucleic acids, the targeted synthesis of chemically modified biomolecules and precise intervention in cellular signaling pathways. In this way, research in the department combines a fundamental understanding of biological processes with concrete perspectives for medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.
Key Research Areas in Life Sciences
Proteins
Proteins are the molecular machines of life: they catalyze biochemical reactions, mediate intercellular signal transmission and form structural scaffolds in tissues and cells. The department's research groups determine protein structures at atomic resolution and analyze how conformational flexibility and post-translational modifications regulate molecular function. Research objects include protein kinases, inhibitory neuroreceptors, extracellular matrix components and proteins involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Structure
The structural principle of molecular biology states: function follows from structure. In order to elucidate this relationship, the researchers in the department use a wide range of methods, including cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, solid-state and solution NMR and mass spectrometry. The three-dimensional structural information obtained in this way forms the molecular basis for the rational design of new active substances and the mechanistic understanding of biological processes.
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Enzymes
Enzymes accelerate biochemical reactions under physiological conditions with impressive substrate specificity and catalytic efficiency. The department investigates enzymes both as research objects and as biotechnological tools: for example, for the enzymatic incorporation of artificial nucleotides into nucleic acids, for enantioselective synthesis reactions or to elucidate the molecular causes of metabolic diseases such as molybdenum cofactor deficiency.
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Redox
Oxidation and reduction processes are fundamental for almost all energy-transferring and regulatory processes in living cells. They link the mitochondrial respiratory chain to cell metabolism, protect against reactive oxygen species and modulate protein functions through reversible oxidation. Researchers in the department are investigating the molecular mechanisms of cellular redox homeostasis and its interrelationship with mitochondrial biogenesis, proteostasis and intracellular signaling networks.
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Peptides
Despite their comparatively small size, peptides have a remarkable variety of biological functions as hormones, antimicrobial agents, cell signaling molecules and membrane modulators. Peptides are rationally designed, synthesized and structurally and functionally characterized in the department. A central research focus is on membrane-active and cell-penetrating peptides, which can be used as molecular transporters for the targeted intracellular application of therapeutic agents.
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Nucleotides
Nucleotides and nucleic acids fulfill diverse cellular functions far beyond their classical role as information carriers: as regulatory RNA molecules, as cofactors of enzymatic reactions and as signaling molecules in immune responses. The department's working groups synthesize chemically modified nucleotide building blocks and develop artificial base pair systems in order to functionally expand the natural genetic code. Fields of application range from EPR-based RNA structure analysis and therapeutic mRNA optimization to the chemical strengthening of plant pathogen defence.
