Drug Delivery

Prof. Holger Frey (FB 09 Chemistry)
Prof. Katharina Landfester (MPI Polymer Research)
Prof. Peter Langguth (FB 09 Pharmaceutics)
Prof. Klaus Müllen (MPI Polymer Research)
Prof. Rudolf Zentel (FB 09 Chemistry)
Prof. Frank Rösch (FB 09 Chemistry)

Polymeric systems such as polymeric nanoparticles, nanocapsules, lipsomes, hyperbranched polymers, polymer complexes and dendrimers are of increasing interest as marker systems (e.g., with superparamagnetic cores, quantum dots, or fluorescent dyes) and as drug delivery systems (consisting of biodegradable polymers like alkylcyanacrylates, poly-L-lactide, polyglycerols, or polycaprolactone and the drug) in biomedical applications.

Researchers in Mainz design novel drug delivery systems which will enable the targeted transport in biological systems. The fundamental understanding of the interaction of these new materials with cells, cellular components and proteins, and the transport into cells is only poorly studied and therefore of high interest for the MPGC.

It is the strength of the MPGC to systematically investigate the influence of nanoparticles of different sizes, materials (e.g. polarity), and functionalizations on differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis of cells. Novel drug delivery systems established by different approaches in the will also be able to cross biological barriers such as the epithelia of the gastrointestinal tract, the lungs, or the blood-brain barrier. Stimuli-dependent responses (e.g. by changes in temperature, pH, and enzyme supply) of the drug-loaded polymeric system can lead to controlled drug release.