Microscopic characterization of nanocarriers in biological environments - from extracellular behavior to intracellular trafficking and immunomodulator release (Q02)

• Subject Area: Biophysics
• Term: since 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 213555243

Q2 will focus on the characterization of the nanocarriers (NC) and their interactions with biological matter. Ex vivo fluorescence correlation spectroscopy will study the NC kinetics in the blood of living animals with respect to possible aggregation, degradation or premature release of cargo. Furthermore, the structure of the NCs protein corona and its influence on endocytosis processes will be reconstructed by 3D cryo elec-tron microscopy. The type and effectiveness of intracellular drug release from NCs, as well as the effective-ness of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loading and stimulation of T cells, will be analyzed by pro-teomics of intracellular compartments and by transcriptome analysis using RNASeq.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1066: Nano-Dimensional Polymer Therapeutics for Tumour Therapy
• Applicant Institution: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz
• Project Heads: Dr. Kaloian Koynov, Ph.D.; Dr. Ingo Lieberwirth; Professor Dr. Volker Mailänder