Advanced analysis of polymersome and exosome hybrids for potential application in therapeutics and diagnostics
Biological vesicles hold great promise as nano compartments for various applications such as drug delivery systems, therapeutics, and diagnostic tools but fundamental relationships between material properties and activity are not sufficiently understood to create new products for the benefits of the European society. The overall aim of USOME is to develop characterization approaches for these novel materials enabling proper functionalisation. In particular, this proposal focuses on the development of an entirely novel analytical approach for the analysis of emerging biohybrid vesicles. As model systems we indicate polymersome-hybrids and exosome-hybrids, representing a variation in structure in terms of stability, origin (synthetic/natural) and their hybrid counterparts (proteins/synthetic polymers). Two processes will be studied in detail (i) the encapsulation of proteins in polymersomes; and (ii) the modification of exosomes with proteins and polymers. As a result, advanced analytical methods for characterization of polymersome and exosome hybrids for potential application in therapeutics and diagnostics will be established. The key to this envisaged breakthrough is based on field flow fractionation technique coupled to multiple detectors for elucidation of the structural and compositional distributions in the biohybid systems. 
This highly topical research will be performed within the individual fellowship of a young, very talented, and curiosity-driven African researcher in a leading European research institute. The combination of his expertise in analytical techniques, the biohybrids formation knowledge of IPF and specific knowledge of the associated partners will enable significant scientific progress in the field and unlocks value for patients. Excellent, customized training will open the ER the doors to a unique research profile, fully embedded in the international scientific community and with outstanding career chances at the fronteers of research.