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Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)

@mpici.bsky.social

Exploring the world of 'hidden dimensions' ( #colloids & #interfaces ) and bridging the gap between #molecules, #MultiScaleMaterials, and #BioSystems. In Potsdam, #Germany. https://www.mpikg.mpg.de/departments #chemsky #Forschung #Research

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Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · yesterday

Our Director, Silvia Vignolini (@vignolinilab.bsky.social), in an interview about her scientific journey and the international research group she has established at the Institute. 👇👇

Humboldt-Stiftung@humboldt-foundation.de · yesterday

What does it mean to be a Humboldt host? Silvia Vignolini is hosting four Humboldt Research Fellows from China as part of her international research group. Read more about her views on international collaboration, being a woman in science and her interdisciplinary research career: bit.ly/4fXVXRW

The graphic shows a portrait of Silvia Vignolini, a Humboldt host and director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. She has long brown hair, is wearing a black jacket and is smiling at the camera. Above the portrait, a quote reads: “I think it is important to put yourself forward as a host because I believe this fellowship offers a truly unique opportunity for researchers.” Photo credit: EXpedition.
Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 6d ago

“It’s a bit like mixing paints until you get the color you want,” Samuel Humphrey from @vignolinilab.bsky.social say. Actually, he adds, “it’s better than that.” Learn more about the fascinating way in which sea snails get their remarkable colors 👇

Science News Explores@snexplores.bsky.social · last wk.

The strategy of making hues with lots of differently colored dots might seem like a human invention. “But actually, evolution had invented it millions of years ago,” says materials scientist Samuel Humphrey. https://www.snexplores.org/article/how-sea-slugs-get-bright-colors

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 4w ago

We are excited to announce that the next generation of sustainable materials will be inspired by nature: Our new #IMPRS for Functional Material Design will welcome 23 fully funded doctoral candidates starting in winter 2026/27. @maxplanck.de More information ➡️ www.mpikg.mpg.de/new-impres-f...

Learning from Nature: New IMPRS for Functional Material Design

Functional Material Design graduate school fosters research at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science.

mpikg.mpg.de

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · last mo.

Learn more about the science coming out of @vignolinilab.bsky.social 🔬 You can find more information on Impressionist sea slugs here ➡️ www.mpikg.mpg.de/6921968/news...

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft@maxplanck.de · last mo.

Double Take👀 Shell-less marine gastropods from the nudibranch group – aka sea slugs! – are striking for their extravagant brilliance of colour and diverse array of forms. A research team @mpici.bsky.social has now discovered exactly how these creatures produce their vibrant, shimmering patterns.

Nudibranchs such as Chromodoris annae stand out for their vibrant colours and varied shapes. C. annae is found in the Indo-Pacific region around Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Marshall Islands.
Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · last mo.

#Glycolipids can target antigen-presenting cells specifically, but synthesising them is laborious and offers limited flexibility. Researchers have now developed a unified solid-phase platform for the rapid and modular synthesis of glycolipids. 👉 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/... @pubs.acs.org

Solid-Phase Glycolipid Synthesis Expedites Liposome Functionalization

Glycolipids play important roles in immune modulation, which makes them attractive components for vaccine delivery systems. However, access to these molecules remains a major limitation as most synthe...

pubs.acs.org

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Exciting work in the space of #SyntheticCell. Our recent work, rdcu.be/e93ZA in @natcomms.nature.com provide an accurate way of generating complex asymmetric bilayers with phase separation - bringing #bottomup #SCs ever so close to real cells.

Engineering synthetic cells with intramembrane domains possessing distinct bilayer asymmetries

Nature Communications - Lipid bilayer asymmetry, phase separation, and encapsulation are long standing issues in the development of synthetic cells. Here the authors develop an inverted emulsion...

rdcu.be

Martina Delbianco@delbiancom.bsky.social · 6mo ago

De novo design of glycan foldamers with programmable tertiary structure out today in @jacs.acspublications.org Congrats to Yadiel! With Nishu Yadav, Martin Rosenthal and Yu Ogawa @mpici.bsky.social @cermav.bsky.social pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

De Novo Design of Glycan Foldamers with Programmable Tertiary Structure

De novo molecular design has yielded proteins and peptides with structures and functions beyond those found in nature. Despite the potential for glycans to form a broader scope of well-defined tertiary architectures, owing to the numerous conjugation sites and stereocenters, no one has yet built glycans with targeted structures and functions from scratch. Here, we designed glycan sequences that fold into programmable 3D architectures. Starting from first-principles, we create a linear glycan that spontaneously adopts a rigid tertiary structure not reported for natural glycans. Considering stereochemical and spatial orientation, we identify a rigid trisaccharide turn unit that programs backbone directionality, driving folding into antiparallel geometry. The combination of this turn unit with multiple cellulose-like strands completes our design, stabilizing a tertiary sheet-like folding, as confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). To quantitatively evaluate the conformational landscape of our glycans in aqueous solution, we built a semiautomated protocol that integrates SAXS data with molecular dynamics simulations, demonstrating further the effectiveness of our design principles. This is an important step to design and control conformation populations, not just single structures in the solid state or of unknown prevalence in the solution phase. Together, these results show that glycans can be programmed to adopt rigid tertiary structures on demand, opening new avenues for de novo glycan-based architectures in synthetic glycobiology, catalysis, and materials science.

pubs.acs.org

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 6mo ago

From plant-based linalool, our scientists made sulfur-rich polymers that form a #sulfur–carbon hybrid—confining & stabilising sulfur. Result: a high-performance room-temp #sodium–sulfur#cathode from abundant, sustainable resources. 🔋Better #nanoscale design ➡️ better #batteries tinyurl.com/4avfnb8u

Unravelling the Secret of Sulfur Confinement and High Sulfur Utilization in Hybrid Sulfur‐Carbons

Thermal condensation of inverse vulcanized sulfur-carbon hybrids enables a bottom-up sulfur confinement strategy, in which a protective carbon phase is progressively constructed around sulfur species....

tinyurl.com

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What does a "self-driving lab" look like & how could #sugars shape the future of #medicine? In BMS labs, #AI & #automation predict & execute #carbohydrate synthesis, enabling new #vaccines & diagnostic tools. Long-term vision: remote drug factories w/ limited infrastructure. tinyurl.com/535pvpm4

The Future of Medicine: Automating Chemistry with Peter Seeberger

In this episode of "On The Go," we visit the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces to meet Peter Seeberger, a visionary chemist and entrepreneur who is transforming the world of medicine. Discover how Peter and his team are automating the complex process of synthesizing carbohydrates (sugars), reducing a task that once took years to just a single day. We explore the cutting-edge Artemiflow technology and the concept of a "self-driving lab"—where AI and automation work 24/7 to predict and execute chemical reactions with unprecedented precision. 0:00 Intro: Meet Peter Seeberger 0:31 Automation vs. Traditional Chemistry 1:18 The Carbohydrate Synthesis Revolution 2:02 How the "Sugar Machine" Works 2:46 From "Bucket Chemistry" to Flow Reactors 3:30 Artemiflow: Real-World Medical Impact 4:15 The Concept of the "Self-Driving Lab" 5:03 Decentralized Medicine: Pharmacies in a Container 5:45 Is Automation a Threat to Jobs? 6:24 The Future: Curiosity-Driven Science 7:05 Outro: Scaling Innovation from Germany In this video, you'll learn about: The revolutionary machine that automates carbohydrate synthesis. How "sugar chemistry" is being used to develop new vaccines and diagnostic tools. The move from "bucket chemistry" to "pipe chemistry" (flow reactors) for safer, more efficient production. Peter’s vision for remote drug factories that could provide life-saving medications to countries with limited pharmaceutical infrastructure. Is automation a job killer for chemists, or the key to a more competitive and innovative future? Join us for an inspiring look at how curiosity-driven science is solving global challenges. Hashtags #Chemistry #Innovation #Automation #MaxPlanckInstitute #DrugDiscovery #Vaccines #Biotech #PeterSeeberger #Artemiflow #FutureOfMedicine #ScienceCommunication #Entrepreneurship

tinyurl.com

Laura Zorzetto@laurazorzetto.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What do Zn, hydroxyapatite and bacteria have in common? They can all be found in E. coli biofilm! 🧫🦠 Check out my latest paper in the group of @cmbidan.bsky.social at @mpici.bsky.social in collaboration with Ioanna Mantouvalou and Leona Bauer at @tuberlin.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Zinc and hydroxyapatite co-localize during in vitro E. coli biofilms mineralization - Scientific Reports

Biofilms are biological materials that form as bacteria protect themselves from environmental challenges secreting extracellular matrix and accumulating minerals under specific conditions. To understa...

nature.com

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New week, new paper out: mirror-image #glycans are still rarely used to design #carbohydrate materials, but they can reveal the rules of how these materials form & help researchers control their synthesis. #glycotime #chemsky

Martina Delbianco@delbiancom.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Well done Dominik! Leveraging Mirror-Image Glycans in #CarbohydrateMaterials out today in @orgbiomolchem.rsc.org ! @rsc.org, @mpici.bsky.social pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Congratulations! #ChemSky & #MatSci interested in strategies & schemes (defect&crystal engineering, spatial charge separation, heteroatom doping, cocatalyst engineering, Z-scheme formation) for #CarbonNitride -based #photocatalyst systems: Dr. Pelicano's research agenda: tinyurl.com/ywv7rm7p

SunThesis: Advanced materials for solar-driven fuel synthesis

mpikg.mpg.de

Christian Mark Pelicano@cmpelicano.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Honored to be recognized as a 2026 Rising Star in Materials Science by ACS Materials Au. Grateful to the Editors for the invitation to contribute to the upcoming Rising Stars Special Issue, and sincerely thankful to my collaborators and group members for their continued support. @mpici.bsky.social

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 8mo ago

🎓 Studentische #Hilfskraft gesucht 🎓 ❗Bewerbung bis 04.01.2026❗ ✔ #Qualitätskontrolle: Einträge prüfen (Alt- #Datenbank) ✔ Fehler korrigieren, #Daten ergänzen/aktualisieren ✔ #Sicherheitsdatenblätter eingeben & pflegen (Neu- #Datenbank) tinyurl.com/2j5krevf

Studentische Hilfskraft zur Unterstützung bei der Qualitätskontrolle und Datenpflege einer neuen Gefahrenstoffdatenbank (m/w/d)

tinyurl.com

Max Planck Institute of Colloids & Interfaces (MPICI)@mpici.bsky.social · 8mo ago

An event to look forward to in #2026: our PhDs & postdocs are organizing a symposium to share research approaches, pitch ideas, & connect. Researchers from >40 countries & 4 depts—all drawing inspiration from nature to tackle technological challenges = perfect recipe for an inspiring get-together!

Laura Zorzetto@laurazorzetto.bsky.social · 8mo ago

April is still far, but gears are already turning to organize the 2026 Symposium for PhD and Postdocs at @mpici.bsky.social. Stay tuned! #PhDlife #Postdoclife #MPIKG

Flyers adversiting the 2026 PhD and Postdoc symposium of MPIKG