Synthetic Life-like Systems
Self-organization in Nature is a phenomenon where molecules form transient supramolecular structures governed by dynamic chemical bonds. To understand how different chemical bonds translate into structural order and function in biology, we combine organic and peptide chemistry to create small molecules that can transform into different types of nanostructures on demand. We study how the chemical kinetics, equilibrium and non-equilibrium pathways affects cellular processes and thus changing their behavior.
Within this topic, scientists within the group learn and combine cell biology, supramolecular and organic chemistry in order to design, synthesize and control both the time and location of structural transformation. We aim to use these concepts to provide technological discoveries in fundamental science that open doors towards new therapeutic solutions.
Chemical Tools to Control Supramolecular Chemistry in Complex Systems
1.
Ren, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Harley, I.; Aydin, Ö.; Driehaus-Ortiz, L.; Kaltbeitzel, A.; Xing, J.; Maxeiner, K.; Lieberwirth, I.; Landfester, K. et al.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Intracellular assembly of supramolecular peptide nanostructures controlled by visible light. Nature Synthesis
4, pp. 673 - 683 (2025)
2.
Chatterjee, S.; Schuler, M.; Braun, M. G.; Synatschke, C. V.; Lu, Q.; Yu, J.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Regulating Promiscuous Catalysis via Substrate-Induced Transient Assembly. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, e202511352 (2025)
3.
Roth, P.; Meyer, R.; Harley, I.; Landfester, K.; Lieberwirth, I.; Wagner, M.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Supramolecular assembly guided by photolytic redox cycling. Nature Synthesis 2, 1646, pp. 980 - 988 (2023)
4.
Zhou, Z.; Maxeiner, K.; Moscariello, P.; Xiang, S.; Wu, Y.; Ren, Y.; Whitfield, C.; Xu, L.; Kaltbeitzel, A.; Han, S. et al.; Mücke, D.; Qi, H.; Wagner, M.; Kaiser, U.; Landfester, K.; Lieberwirth, I.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: In Situ Assembly of Platinum(II)-Metallopeptide Nanostructures Disrupts Energy Homeostasis and Cellular Metabolism. Journal of the American Chemical Society
144 (27), pp. 12219 - 12228 (2022)
5.
Pieszka, M.; Han, S.; Volkmann, C.; Graf, R.; Lieberwirth, I.; Landfester, K.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Controlled Supramolecular Assembly Inside Living Cells by Sequential Multistaged Chemical Reactions. Journal of the American Chemical Society 142 (37), pp. 15780 - 15789 (2020)
Assembly Dynamics in Cells and Biological Response
6.
Chagri, S.; Maxeiner, K.; Silva, M. J.S.A.; Förch, L.; Link, J.; Roth, P.; Meyer, R.; Fetzer, J.; Kaltbeitzel, A.; Lieberwirth, I. et al.; Landfester, K.; Wagner, M.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Intracellular Formation of Synthetic Peptide Nanostructures Causes Mitochondrial Disruption and Cell Death in Tumor Spheroids. Advanced Science
12 (25), 2412606 (2025)
7.
Ren, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Maxeiner, K.; Kaltbeitzel, A.; Harley, I.; Xing, J.; Wu, Y.; Wagner, M.; Landfester, K.; Lieberwirth, I. et al.; Weil, T.; Ng, D. Y. W.: Supramolecular Assembly in Live Cells Mapped by Real-Time Phasor-Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging. Journal of the American Chemical Society
146 (17), pp. 11991 - 11999 (2024)
8.
Jeena, M. T.; Link, J.; Zhang, J.; Harley, I.; Turunen, P.; Graf, R.; Wagner, M.; Baptista, L. A.; Jonker, H. R. A.; Cui, L. et al.; Lieberwirth, I.; Landfester, K.; Rao, J.; Ng, D. Y. W.; Weil, T.: Chaperone-Derived Copper(I)-Binding Peptide Nanofibers Disrupt Copper Homeostasis in Cancer Cells. Angewandte Chemie, International Edition in English
63 (51), e202412477 (2024)