Ph.D. Theses

This thesis explores the role of structural biology in understanding protein function, with a primary focus on EGFR mutations in NSCLC (Part I) and a secondary focus on enzyme engineering for biotechnological applications (Part II). Part I of this thesis investigates how EGFR kinase domain mutations alter protein stability and inhibitor sensitivity through computational modelling, providing insights into drug resistance mechanisms and treatment outcomes in NSCLC patients. [...]

Jedes Lebewesen steht im ständigen Austausch mit seiner Umwelt und ist sich veränderndenUmweltbedingungen ausgesetzt. Dies gilt insbesondere für einzellige Organismen wieBakterien aber auch für einzellige Eukaryoten. [...]

AbstractThis project focuses on the overexpression and purification of Streptomyces lividansprotease inhibitor (SLPI) in transformed E. coli to compare the efficiency of two methods ofexpression induction. [...]

This work deals with the expression, purification, characterization, and crystallization of ΔhFMO5,a variant of the human flavin-dependent monooxygenase 5 (hFMO5) without transmembraneregion. This modification enables the expression and purification of soluble protein withoutaddition of detergent, resulting in the isolation of active protein saturated with FAD. [...]

The complexation/flocculation induced by cationic polyelectrolytes (cPE) is regarded as aneffective method in conventional water treatment process for addressing negatively chargedhumic acid (HA), which exists ubiquitously in aquatic environments as a degradation productof plants and negatively affects the quality of drinking water.The interaction between oppositely charged HA and cPE can be regarded as the formation ofinterpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPEC), where HA serves as the polyanion with high rigidityand polydispersity. IPEC of cationic polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC)and HA was first studied with a focus on the Ca2+ effects. [...]

With the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a pressing globalhealth crisis is emerging, significantly contributing to rising mortality ratesworldwide. The excessive and improper use of antibiotics in both human medicineand agriculture, coupled with insufficient regulation and the global spread ofresistant pathogens, accelerate the development of multidrug-resistant bacteriasuch as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. [...]

Future e+e− colliders, such as the FCC-ee, aim to test the Standard Model to the ultimateprecision. This requires synergistic progress in detector technology and data analysis techniques.This thesis comprehensively presents the interlinked efforts targeting these goals.Jet flavour identification algorithms play a crucial role in maximally exploiting the physicspotential of the FCC-ee, particularly in the Higgs and electroweak sectors. [...]

The FCC-ee is the first stage of a two stage project which would envision a 92 km tunnelbeing used for an electron-positron collider experiment starting around 2045, and a proton-proton collider in the 2070’s. The FCC-ee offers unprecedented precision tests of the StandardModel, owing to its clean leptonic collision environment and exquisite luminosity [...]

This thesis presents precise determinations of two fundamental parameters of the stan-dard model (SM), the strong coupling constant αS (mZ) and the top quark mass mtalong with its width Γt. These contribute importantly to constraints on the stabilityof the SM electroweak vacuum.For the determination of αS (mZ), CMS inclusive jet measurements using LHC proton-proton (pp) collisions at centre-of-mass energies √s = 2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV are anal-ysed together, for the first time. [...]

Gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models provide a compelling framework for the search for a supersymmetric partner of the tau lepton ($\widetilde{\tau}$) with a macroscopic lifetime. In such scenarios, $\widetilde{\tau}$ can decay to tau lepton displaced from the primary proton-proton interaction vertex. [...]