Projects
Bioanalytics
Analysis of Metabolites in Biological Tissues
The Bioanalytics Group is developing methods for analysing metabolites and intermediates in biological tissues. Energy metabolism intermediates in particular, such as various coenzyme A activated substances (fatty acid acyl-CoAs, malonyl-CoA, acetyl-CoA, etc), can be quantified from different animal tissues in parallel (liver, muscle, fat tissue).
Bioanalyses for Nanotransderm
This OFM technique enables the analysis of nanoparticles in the skin. The Bioanalytics Group is developing the necessary tailored analytical methods.
Dermal Cytokine Sampling (Dermalyt)
This technique allows protein signal substances such as cytokines (= inflammation parameters) in the skin to be analysed. The Bioanalytics Group is developing the necessary tailored analytical methods.
MonoMED
The MonoMED project is located at the interface of polymer chemistry, analytical chemistry and (nano)medicine. It deals with optimising new, miniaturised, monolithic separation materials for modern liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) using ring-opening metathesis polymerisation. The project is aimed at tailoring the developed monolith technology to (nano)medicine and demonstrating its potential by specific applications.
Nano(Biopharmaceutics) Nanoscale Functionalities for Targeted Delivery of Biopharmaceuticals
New therapeutic proteins and peptides (“biopharmaceuticals”) are gaining increasing importance. Their specific structures, physical properties, stabilities, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics require innovative methods to ensure that they are efficiently delivered to their site of action. This project is developing new multidisciplinary approaches for the design, synthesis and evaluation of molecular, nanosystems and microsystems for targeted drug delivery.
Nano-Lith
The Nano-Lith project, which is part of the joint research project Nano-Health funded by the Austrian NANO Initiative, deals with the development of novel monolithic nanoseparation phases. These phases will be optimised for analytical tasks of the project partners and will be used for the analysis of protein and peptide drugs required for the joint research project using nano-HPLC-MS/MS.
Special analyses for Liposam: DERMAL SAMPLING FOR PK-PD OF LIPOPHILIC TOPICAL DRUGS
The Bioanalytics Group is developing tailored analytical methods for the Liposam project to be used in PK/PD studies with new dermatological agents. Method development – method validation – quality assurance – data management/data archiving from one source according to international quality standards (GLP).
Structural Analysis and Identification of Contaminants in Pharmacological Agents
Chromatographic methods are combined with mass spectrometry to investigate contaminants and decomposition products in pharmaceutical products.
The analytical equipment available at the Institute (triple quadrupole LC/MS/MS, LC-FTMS) permits targeted detection of low concentration contaminants and decomposition products and can also be used for analysing their chemical structure. The methods are primarily used in analyses for the pharmaceutical industry.
Cell membrane analysis of pathogens
The correlation between the membrane structure of different pathogens and their resistance to antibiotics will be investigated in cooperation with the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Hygiene of the University of Graz. The project aims to develop a measuring method for determining phospholipid patterns in cell membranes to provide the basis for designing new antibiotics against drug-resistant Staphylococcus strains.
Agreement of objectives project Programme Line 1 – Nanotechnology, Module P1.4 Bionanotechnology “Nano-HPLC-MS as a universal measurement method for determining medically relevant substance classes (lipids and peptide hormones) in medical research”
Nanotechnology is internationally regarded as one of the key technologies of the 21st century and is expected to have a significant impact on science, industrial development and the economy during the coming decades. Research in this field also deals with the development and use of new drugs based on fundamental information provided by high-performance sensitive analytical methods. This project is developing both new tools for analysis (novel nanoseparation phases) and new analytical methods using nano-HPLC-MS.