en
Michael Famulok
© Heiko Diehl
Prof. Dr. Michael Famulok

Website

Affiliations
  • Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES)
  • TRA Steering Committee
Research topics
  • chemical biology
  • DNA nanotechnology
The focus of our research lies in the areas of chemical biology and functional DNA nanotechnology. We currently concentrate on aptamer research and methods development, in vitro selection of combinatorial nucleic libraries (SELEX) that bind to specific targets, including whole cells or tissues. We develop aptamer-based nanocarriers for drug delivery, and target-identification methods by aptamer-based affinity labeling (ABAL). In DNA nanotechnology projects we create functional (bio-hybrid) nanomachines that perform specific tasks, such as logic gating, mechanical work, or directional walking driven by light, strand-displacement, or chemical energy. The spectrum of methods we are employing range from chemical synthesis to chemical biology, and biophysical chemistry to atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), microscale thermophoresis, FRET studies, and more.
Selected publications

Valero J, Pal N, Dhakal S, Walter NG, Famulok M. (2018) A bio-hybrid DNA rotor-stator nanoengine that moves along predefined tracks. Nat. Nanotechnol. 13(6):496-503. doi: 10.1038/s41565-018-0109-z

Domenyuk V, Gatalica Z, Santhanam R, Wei X, Stark A, Kennedy P, Toussaint B, Levenberg S, Wang J, Xiao N, Greil R, Rinnerthaler G, Gampenrieder SP, Heimberger AB, Berry DA, Barker A, Quackenbush J, Marshall JL, Poste G, Vacirca JL, Vidal GA, Schwartzberg LS, Halbert DD, Voss A, Magee D, Miglarese MR, Famulok M, Mayer G, Spetzler D. (2018) Poly-ligand Profiling Differentiates Trastuzumab-Treated Breast Cancer Patients According to Their Outcomes. Nat. Commun. 9(1):1219., doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03631-z

Prusty DK, Adam V, Zadegan RM, Irsen S, Famulok M. (2018) Supramolecular aptamer nano-constructs for receptor-mediated targeting and light-triggered release of chemotherapeutics into cancer cells. Nat Commun. 9(1):535. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02929-2.

Škugor M, Valero J, Murayama K, Centola M, Asanuma H, Famulok M. (2019) Orthogonally Photocontrolled Non-Autonomous DNA Walker. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 58(21):6948-6951. doi: 10.1002/anie.201901272

Michael Famulok
© Heiko Diehl
Prof. Dr. Michael Famulok

Website

-