Ph.D. Theses

A measurement of partial branching fractions of charmless semileptonic beauty meson decaysusing an inclusively reconstructed hadronic system is presented. These decays are denoted asB → Xuℓν, where Xu represents a hadronic system containing a u quark produced in the un-derlying quark-level b → u transition. [...]

One of the major outstanding questions in astroparticle physics is the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Because charged cosmic rays are deflected by (inter)galactic magnetic fields, they do not point back to their sources, and photons are scattered by the low-energy background radiation that is present throughout the universe. [...]

The synthesis of nanomaterials in solution often involves multiple intermediate steps from the precursor to the final product, as outlined in the non-classical nucleation theory. The first step in a one-pot reaction typically begins with the dissolution of the precursors in a solvent, often promoted by the coordination of metal ions with specific ligands. [...]

When in 2020 the virus for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) hitthe world, the response of the scientific community was tremendous. Scientists used not only state-of-the-art methodology but also reacted by developing effective countermeasures. [...]

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. [...]