Research

Research at the Institute of Pharmacy focuses on drug discovery, overlapping largely with the key priority areas of the Department of Chemistry: drug development for infectious diseases and material/nano chemistry . The Institute of Pharmacy provides a natural link between medical research and molecular sciences, bridging the gap between the Department of Chemistry and both medicine (UKE University Hospital) and biology as well as research centres outside the university such as the Leibnitz-Institute of Virology (LVI) and the Research Centre Borstel.

Drug Discovery

Interests range from rational and computer assisted development via the synthesis of receptor modulators (Temme group) and metal-based imaging probes (Maison group) to the development of new antibacterial surfaces (Maison group). These  chemistry related studies are complemented by projects in pharmaceutical biology conducted by the Siewert group who works on light-based anti-infectives derived from fungi and by clinical pharmacy projects of the Wicha group exploring individual therapy concepts for special patient populations through pharmacometrics and therapeutic drug monitoring, particularly regarding anti-infectives. Research in the latter area is carried out in close cooperation with the UKE Pharmacy (University Hospital).

Research at the Institute of Pharmacy addresses current topics of infection research: identification of new anti-infectives, resistance mechanisms, clinical hygiene and drug management. We have local cooperations with research groups of other institutes of the Department of Chemistry, the University Hospital, the Department of Biology and the Leibnitz-Institue of Virology (LVI). Research at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (Oetjen group) deals with the pathomechanisms of cardiovascular diseases, focusing on the importance of nitric oxide metabolism, the development of cardiovascular diseases and the genesis of diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Material and Nano Chemistry

Research on functional materials is performed in the Leopold group. Projects in this area are related to drug formulation and tailored drug release by polymeric coatings. The Maison group works on tailored metals and plastics for implants and clinical hygiene. Research of both groups focuses on practical applications and extensive cooperation projects are carried out with industrial companies and other institutions such as Helmholtz-Zentrum HEREON. We are furthermore interested in topics related to surfaces and nano particles (Leopold group and Maison group).