Description of position DC07
Title of the project
Tailored foldamers for the supramolecular sensing of carbohydrates
Description of the project
Being able to selectively recognize carbohydrates in vivo would pave the way to a broad range of pharmaceutical, biological and diagnostic applications. Our group has developed synthetic carbohydrate receptors based on folded oligomers, “foldamers”, that achieve outstanding carbohydrate binding selectivity and affinity in organic solvents. The next challenge is to extend this approach so that it works in water. For this purpose, reversible covalent bonding of targeted carbohydrates by the foldamer using boronic acids will ensure high binding affinity and will be combined with the shape selectivity of the foldamers. A second objective will be to make the binding event detectable by e.g. fluorescence so that receptors can serve as sensors.
Organic chemical synthesis will represent the largest part of the experimental work. The project will also involve molecular design using computational tools, molecular recognition studies and associated physical measurements.
Background literature:
https://huc.cup.uni-muenchen.de/site/assets/files/1332/15-nchem2195_274.pdf
https://huc.cup.uni-muenchen.de/site/assets/files/1297/2018-angewandte_chemie_saha_et_al_453.pdf
https://huc.cup.uni-muenchen.de/site/assets/files/1301/2018_accchemres.pdf
https://huc.cup.uni-muenchen.de/site/assets/files/1513/anie_201914929.pdf
Research Field
Main area: Chemistry
Specific area: Molecular recognition and sensing for pharmacological applications
Work location
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany. Department of Pharmacy at the Faculty for Chemistry and Pharmacy (https://www.cup.uni-muenchen.de/). In the brand new facilities of the Chair of Chemical Biology for Drug Research (https://huc.cup.uni-muenchen.de/).
Supervisor
prof. Ivan Huc (ivan.huc@cup.lmu.de)
Required educational level
MSc or equivalent in organic chemistry, medicinal or supramolecular chemistry, or drug discovery.
Skills or qualitfication required
Knowledge and skills in synthetic organic chemistry Notions of molecular recognition processes.
Required English level
Proficiency in English, equivalent to IELTS Test Academic 6.5 (no module below 6) or TOEFL IBT 95, is required.
Specific requests for the application
Transcripts of records of the BSc and MSc should be provided
Tentative starting date of the contract
The desired start date is between September 1st and Nov. 1st 2024.
Eligibility Criteria
In addition to the General Eligibility Criteria the candidate should also have:
MSc or equivalent corresponding to a cumulated five years of higher education. Admission into the doctoral program of the Faculty typically requires high grades at the BSc and MSc or a ranking in the top 30% of the candidate’s cohort. A specific exam may be requested by the Dean of Studies when these criteria are not met (e.g. for an MSc delivered in 4 or 4.5 years).
