39th "Technetium Matters" online seminar on zoom

Thursday March 19th 16:00 MET
Vijay Kumar (HZDR Dresden)
"Pyrite solubility and its capacity to immobilize
technetium-99 in metabolite-rich environments"

Please send me a DM if you like to participate. 🧪

6 people before the jcf spring symposium banner

Nuclear Chemistry Cologne @chemunicologne.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social meets André "Dr Dre" Isaacs www.instagram.com/drdre4000/?h... at the @jungchemikerforum.bsky.social spring symposium. 🧪

Female PhD students sitting around a table with invited role models during a dinner discussion at the Women@Science event.

To support and empower our female PhD students, TIDE organizes the Women at Science event. This week, three #FemaleRoleModels shared insights into their career journeys during relaxed small-group discussions, giving students the chance to ask questions and connect.
#WomenInScience #PhDLife

Collage of photos from a graduate Spring School event: professors presenting at the front of a lecture hall, students discussing research during a poster session, participants seated and listening in a lecture room, and a group of students attending a guided laboratory tour.

TIDE’s #SpringSchool for the 2nd cohort took place this month with partners in Bayreuth and Erlangen. Through poster sessions and talks, students exchanged ideas, built connections, and strengthened their networks.

#PhDLife #Research

Artificial DNA base pair developed based on halogen bonds A research team at the University of Cologne has developed an artificial DNA base pair that works according to a new chemical principle. In contrast to natural bases, the novel artificial base pairs u...

🧬🔬 A research team led by @kathlab.bsky.social has developed an artificial DNA base pair that works according to a new chemical principle. In contrast to natural bases, the novel artificial base pairs use halogen bonds that are enzymatically incorporated into DNA.

Read more: ➡️ uni.koeln/AP4XF

Person in Anzug mit grün gestreifter Krawatte, umgeben von Händen, die alte Krawatten aus den Jahren 2010 bis 2023 mit Scheren abschneiden.

✂️ Tie off
When Professor Dr Sanjay Mathur arrived in Cologne, he soon experienced a culture shock: during his first Carnival, a colleague snipped off his tie to great applause. Coming from India and having worked in Saarbrücken and Würzburg, he wasn’t prepared for this tradition ▶️ uni.koeln/VGD7X

Investigating Halogen Bonds as Pairing Force in an Artificial DNA Base Pair The past decades have seen significant expansion of the nucleic acid space with the development of modified artificial base pairs based on natural nucleic acid analogues and even entirely new designed base pairs. This expansion has led to tremendous potential for applications such as site-specific labeling and structural investigations. However, natural nucleic acids rely strongly on hydrogen bonding as the attraction force, which has driven the development of artificial base pairs that adapt this mechanism. To achieve orthogonality with natural bases, unnatural base pairs with alternative attraction forces, such as hydrophobic interactions, have been developed which however can perturb duplex structures. Our work introduces a completely newly designed artificial base pair that leverages halogen bonding (R–Hal···) as a directional hydrogen bonding-like interaction. We report computational studies that led to the development of this novel unnatural base pair and its synthesis. Our results demonstrate the successful acceptance of a bulky iodinated nucleoside triphosphate by KlenTaq DNA polymerase, enabling the selective enzymatic synthesis of a DNA strand containing the dIIPO–doIPP base pair. Our work presents the first demonstration of a novel base pair with halogen bonding potential that is enzymatically incorporated into DNA.

New paper in @jacs.acspublications.org 🎉:
A de novo designed unnatural base pair that exploits halogen bonding as pairing force in DNA for genetic alphabet expansion. 🧬 ⚗️
@unicologne.bsky.social
@chemunicologne.bsky.social
@breugstlab.bsky.social

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

The candidate is standing next to his supervisors wearing a handmade doctoral hat smiling to the camera.

Congratulations to Robert Herzhoff on the successful completion of his #PhD on "Atomistic modelling of organic electrodes for electrochemical devices". We are proud to celebrate this important academic milestone and wish him every success in his future career.

#ProudPI #PhDone #Research

Students from the research group with their supervisor standing in front of the MRS sign at the convention center in Boston.

Some of the TIDE members attended the #MRSFallMeeting in Boston, where they presented their latest research results and exchanged ideas with fellow scientists. The conference offered a valuable platform for scientific discussion and networking. An inspiring and rewarding experience!
#ResearchLife

A three panel figure showing microlaser characteristics during dynamic compression by an atomic force microscope. (a) Lasing spectra acquired during a push and release experiment, where the force applied by the AFM onto the microlaser is linearly increased from 0 nN to 7 nN and then released back to 0 nN. The spectra are normalized and vertically offset to show the shift and broadening of the lasing modes. (b) Fitted center position of the lasing modes labelled in (a), plotted over the time of the experiment. Two time points right after the microlaser made contact with the beaded tip of the AFM are excluded from the plot due to strong mode splitting. (c) Fitted FWHM (symbols, left axis) of the 4 laser modes shown in (b) and the measured applied force (pink solid line, right axis) as function of time. The resolution limit of the spectrometer is about 50 pm.

Very happy to finalize a few projects after a busy year, starting with a pre-print of Melisa's work on #flexible #microlasers made from #elastomers! A great material to prepare soft microlasers to measure biological #forces. #biophotonics #biosensing arxiv.org/abs/2512.22707

Season’s greetings from @kathlab.bsky.social ! 🎄✨ Grateful for a year of great science 🧪📄, strong teamwork 🤝, and shared moments 🚢🎉 - and excited for what lies ahead 🚀 @chemunicologne.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social

Start slide of the Christmas lecture in chemistry at the University of Cologne, depicting father Christmas wearing lab goggles and gloves

@chemunicologne.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social

(NH4)2[Tc2O2(S2O7)4]: An Unexpected Technetium(V)‐Sulfate From the Reaction of (NH4)(TcO4) With SO3 The reaction of the radioactive pertechnetate (99TcO4)− with the oxidizer SO3 leads to blue crystals of (NH4)2[Tc2O2(S2O7)4]. The complex dimeric [Tc2O2(S2O7)4]2− anion exhibits the technetium in the...

New paper with Stefan of the Wickleder group. Radioactive Technetium meets aggressive SO3. What can/might/will happen?
@unicologne.bsky.social @chemunicologne.bsky.social
🧪
doi.org/10.1002/chem...

A large group of students stands smiling in front of a university building. Among them is one student who recently completed his research residency there, standing near the center and smiling at the camera.

From July-October, Benedikt completed a research residency at @UofT with @Prof. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, insights into the structure and operation of #selfdrivinglaboratories, #QuantumComputing algorithms, and advanced #MachineLearning approaches in #ComputationalChemistry.

#phdlife #ResearchStay

Nice work together with the @jaelab.bsky.social on Fam136A as a novel Disulfide Relay substrate and guardian of proteostasis in the mitochondrial IMS - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti.... Accompanied by a small graphical abstract…

Science & wine go well together. We hosted Mike Haley for a seminar and a PhD tutorial talk at the Univ of Cologne. He concluded his journey on antiaromaticity before we hiked through the Ahr valley for some concentrated red wines. Thanks Mike. @chemunicologne.bsky.social @princeravat.bsky.social

The field of Technetium-98 in the chart of nuclides, with a small red triangle added, indicating the newly reported ec decay

Hurra! Dominiks 1st first-author paper published in PRC. Technetium paper #10 since starting Tc chemistry & lifetime goal reached: recolouring 1 field of the chart of nuclides. @unicologne.bsky.social @chemunicologne.bsky.social 🧪

Electron capture decay of Tc-98

journals.aps.org/prc/pdf/10.1...

PhD student standing with her supervisors and examiners, all smiling at the camera and holding drinks in hand. In the next moment, she’s seen laughing and celebrating with friends, enjoying the achievement together.

We are delighted to congratulate Wing-Si on her successful PhD defense earlier this month on topic “Synthesis of Squaraines and their Application in Optoelectronic Devices”. Best wishes for the exciting journey ahead of you.
#ProudPI #PhDone

New Review out in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social: "Organic Spin-State Photoswitches" will tell you how to generate diradicals on demand, change spin states from singlets to triplets, in a bistable fashion. By Takuma & Joël @UniCologne
🔗🔓tiny.cc/Spinstate

Comparison of standard and modified 99Mo/99mTc radionuclide generators - Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 99mTc is the most widely used radionuclide in medical diagnostics and typically obtained from high-specific-activity (HSA) 99Mo produced in nuclear reactors. However, recent reactor shutdowns have led to supply shortages and prompted efforts to implement alternative production methods. One promising approach is neutron activation of 98Mo, which yields low-specific-activity (LSA) 99Mo. Since conventional Al2O3-based 99Mo/99mTc generators are designed for HSA 99Mo, adaptations are required for LSA 99Mo usage. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of modifying existing Al2O3-based 99Mo/99mTc generators for use with LSA 99Mo, anticipating production at the planned high brilliance neutron source (HBS) at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Key modifications included adjustments to the amount of Al2O3 on the column and the elution volume of 99mTc to enhance 99Mo adsorption and 99mTc elution efficiency. The performance of the modified “mock-up” system was compared with a standard clinical generator. The results demonstrated that only minor modifications are required for LSA 99Mo to be effectively utilized in a future generator, with elution efficiencies remaining comparable to conventional generators, while maintaining parameters like size, form, number, activity of the individual generator comparable. However, 99Mo breakthrough levels exceeded regulatory limits, highlighting the need for further optimization. Nevertheless, these findings support the feasibility of using LSA 99Mo in clinical applications with minimal changes to existing infrastructure.

Marcos first first-author paper is online, congrats! Technetium paper #9 since we started Tc chemistry in 2019.

@unicologne.bsky.social @chemunicologne.bsky.social
🧪

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Honored to share some big news: I’m now tenured as a W3 Professor of Organic Chemistry @UniCologne! Immensely grateful to all the group members who contributed to this journey🙏 — this milestone is ours to share. @ChemUniCologne #OrganicChemistry #Tenure 🍾🎉🧪🧬

Molecular structure model of the gepherin protein complex on a gray background, with colored segments: yellow, blue, gray, red, and green, representing the protein subunits.

🧠 How Synapses Hold Together 🤝

This #discovery was made by a research team @bccologne.bsky.social studying the molecular architecture of #synapses. The study shows that the protein #gephrin forms flexible filaments in the brain, serving as an important building block of inhibitory synapses.

Insights into Potassium 18‐Crown‐6 Complexes with Pertechnetate and Perrhenate: A Structural and Computational Study of their Coordination Chemistry The synthesis, crystal structures, and characterization of potassium 18 crown 6 complexes with tetrahedral oxoanions, [K(18 crown 6)][XO4] (X = Tc, Re), are reported. X-ray diffraction analysis, Rama...

First "first author"-paper of Clarence is online, congrats!
doi.org/10.1002/zaac...

@chemunicologne.bsky.social
@unicologne.bsky.social
🧪

Overview image, showing different microlaser platforms at the top (including disks, spheres, nanorods, and optoplasmonic lasers), the biological targets (cells, organoids, tissue, animals) in the middle, and different applications of microlasers (sensors, optical barcodes, cell tracking) at the bottom.

Is anyone still reading review papers these days? For those who do, check out our #review (open access) on #biointegrated #microlasers, now published in @optica.org. doi.org/10.1364/OPTI...

A PhD graduate standing proudly with his supervisors after a successful defense, wearing a traditional doctoral hat and smiling for the photo.

Congratulations to Baris on successfully defending his PhD thesis this week on “Optoelectronic properties of dipolar merocyanines on highly ordered surfaces”. TIDE is proud of this achievement and wishes him all the best for his future career.

#ProudPI #PhDone

Die Entdeckung des Polonium - Praktische Nuklearchemie YouTube video by Simons Chemiebaukasten

Finally after months of trying. I was able recreate the experiment of Marie Curie that lead to the discovery of Polonium on a 10^-6 scale.

Only in german for now. Until I translated it in a couple of weeks.

youtu.be/ClUnkq_gBL4?...

Three cyclists from our research training group, dressed in matching cycling outfits, stand smiling in front of Mont Ventoux among other cyclists. The Mont Ventoux rises in the background under a clear sky, capturing the spirit of accomplishment and team pride.

Some of our TIDE members took part in the stage 16 of cycling #TourDeFrance– #MontVentoux July 2025, and rode up the famous Mont Ventoux. It was a tough climb and an amazing experience!
#MontVentoux #Cycling #Researcher

A PhD student stands beside her scientific poster during a conference poster session. She is smiling and ready to present her research, with other posters and attendees visible in the background.

Soyoung attended #ICOE2025 in Coimbra, Portugal and presented her poster on microcavity #OLEDs and took part in discussions on organic electronics. She connected with researchers and students from across Europe, truly an inspiring experience!
#organicelectronics #solarcells #research #science

α-Helical Structure of Antimicrobial Peptides Enhances Their Activity through Molecular Surface Signatures The increase in antibacterial resistance is one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine, driving an urgent need to develop new drugs to combat resistant pathogens. Peptides represent a promising...

We are beyond excited to share our new paper on #NMR structures of antimicrobial #peptides in @pubs.acs.org Biochemistry! 1/3

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Picture of the TIDE group including PhDs from 1st and 2nd cohort as well as the speakers, PIs, scientific staff and coordination.

Fantastic news: @dfg.de has just approved the second funding period for our research training group TIDE! We are honored and very happily looking forward to further 4.5 years of collaborative PhD journeys at @unicologne.bsky.social and @unibonn.bsky.social!
Further info: uni-koeln.de/en/universit...