Interactions of responsive soft microgels with lipid membranes (C07*)

• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Physics of Polymers
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 191948804

We will study interaction of responsive microgels with lipid-bilayer membranes – in particular adsorption, wrapping, and self-assembly. Experiments and computer simulations will allow us to understand and predict the physics of microgel-membrane systems. The behavior is affected by a multitude of properties, such as microgel and membrane deformability, chemical forces, and membrane-mediated interactions. We aim to generate fundamental understanding that can be used, inter alia, to design responsive bio-nanostructured materials and to rationalize interactions of soft colloids with complex biological systems such as cells.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 985: Functional Microgels and Microgel Systems
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Project Heads: Professor Jérôme Crassous, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Gerhard Gompper