Mike Blüggel

A little #AgarArt to brighten up the lab. 🧫✨ New fluorescent plates as name signs for our benches. Lab culture, literally 😄, where #science meets #art. #molecularbiology #microbiology #fluorescent #LabLife. What would you like to paint?

It's exactly the kind of science communication we need. The article captures well why nanobodies have become such powerful tools: small, robust, binders that can be engineered into modular formats for applications ranging from imaging and detection to targeted modulation of protein function.

It was a real pleasure to talk with Vivien about our nanobody research. The interview was precise, inquisitive, and truly on equal footing. She approaches science with genuine curiosity, sharp questions, and a strong sense for what matters in practice.
#sciencecommunication #interview

Look at our interview with Vivien Marx finally published in the new Nature Methods technology feature “What nanobodies can do for you.” 🦙 Thank you, Vivien, for the thoughtful conversation and for turning many scientists perspectives into engaging piece. 🦙

Link 👉🏻 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Last Friday, we wrapped up our #EMBLSolutionScattering course at EMBL Hamburg.
Many thanks to everyone who made last week such a success! It was inspiring to see such a diverse group come together to learn, discuss, and tackle hands-on challenges in SAXS/SANS. 🙌🏼

Nanobody-gestützte Toolbox für die Proteinkontrolle der nächsten Generation - BIOspektrum BIOspektrum -

👨🏼‍💻A small change in job title, a big step in my career: I am no longer a postdoc, but now leading my own junior research group “Functional Biochemistry”. I am honoured that our research, are now featured in the current Biospektrum @gbmev.bsky.social
Read more 👉🏻 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

It was an absolute pleasure to be one of the participants at #P12beamline! Thank you @embl.org for the amazing #course, the mentoring, and the excellent organization by the P12 team at #DESY. 🙏🏻 Now I’m back at my group to share the #SAXS data and knowledge. 📚 #EMBLSolutionScattering

Great first day at #DESY with all participants and the P12 team at the “Solution Scattering from Biological Macromolecules” course. Excited about the upcoming measurements! 🧪 ☢️ www.embl.org/about/info/c...
#EMBLSolutionScattering #SAXS #EMBL #Hamburg #P12beamline #Structuralbiology

Blüggel Lab - Functional biochemistry

www.uni-due.de/zmb/function...

Starting your own lab is exciting—but challenging.
Join our GBM Young Investigator leadership workshop in Regensburg, April 13–16th, 2026.
Professional coaching, peer networking & practical tips for new PIs.
Apply by Nov 30, 2025.
👉 gbm-online.de/de/young-inv...
Pls repost!

I am deeply honored to be supported by the @ekfstiftung.bsky.social in my project on tumor-specific degradation strategies. Together, we will pioneer innovative approaches to selectively eliminate cancer targets
#cancertherapy #funding #proteindegradation

Read more 👉🏻 www.uni-due.de/zmb/novel-ap...

With innovation against leukemia!🩸🧫 Read more 👉🏻 www.uni-due.de/2025-10-13-t... #leukemia #proteinmanipulation #AML #ALL

KI generierte Darstellung: Eine Leukämiezelle (weiß) schwimmt im Blutstrom mit roten Blutkörperchen. Eine metallisch glänzende Helixstruktur daneben repräsentiert das Helicon.

Forscher:innen der #UDE entwickeln einen zweifach neuen #Therapieansatz für aggressive #Kinderleukämien (ALL & AML). Nanobody PROTACs mit Helicons sollen das Enzym Taspase 1 leukämieformspezifisch abbauen. 📸UDE/Shirley Knauer, generiert mit KI. www.uni-due.de/2025-10-13-t...

Highly Preorganized Calixarene Tweezers for Protein Recognition Calixarene scaffolds offer structural robustness and tunable geometry for designing selective supramolecular inhibitors. Here, we developed a focused library of preorganized multivalent calix[4]arene tweezers targeting the cancer-related protease Taspase 1. Seven cone-conformation derivatives were synthesized, varying in linker rigidity, functionalization, and multivalency. Meta-dynamics simulations showed that flexible butynyl linkers enabled conformational adaptability, while rigid benzyl linkers promoted structural preorganization. Different biochemical binding assays showed that rigid constructs, particularly the bivalent c2Tl and upper-rim derivatives uc2T and uc4T, most effectively disrupted the Taspase 1/Importin α-interaction by directly binding to the enzyme’s loop region near the active site. All constructs inhibited Taspase 1 activity, with c2Tl and uc4T showing the highest potency (low micromolar KD values). While polar groups enhanced solubility, they reduced binding affinity; in contrast, increased multivalency and linker rigidity improved inhibition. These results establish rigid, preorganized calix[4]arene ligands as promising scaffolds for targeted enzyme inhibition.

🦂 New molecular "tweezers" against taspase-1! 🦂
We show how calixarene-based tweezers specifically block taspase1 activity. These small molecules not only disrupt nuclear import but also the cleavage of important substrates. 👉 doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.5c00803 #Taspase1 #ProteinManipulation

Photoresponsive molecular tweezers modulate Taspase 1 activity Light serves as an exceptional stimulus for the precise spatiotemporal regulation of protein activity and protein–protein interactions. Here, we introduce a light-responsive supramolecular ligand syst...

🔦 Light Switch for Proteases💡
Controlling proteins with a light dimmer: This allows protein functions to be precisely modulated. Read more here 👉 doi.org/10.1039/D5CB00069F #Photoswitch #Photoresponsive #Taspase1 #ProteinManipulation

Small but mighty: the versatility of nanobodies in modern medicine Nanotools in biomedicine open up novel applications in research, diagnostics, and clinical care. Here, nanobody technology has emerged as a powerful platform, offering advantages over conventional ant...

Summer is over and it was hot 🔥. We published three papers on our current research topics: a review on the medical application of nanobodies and two papers demonstrating new ways to specifically manipulate the activity of the protease Taspase1. Read more here 👉 doi.org/10.1039/D5NH00283D
#Nanobodies

City skyline with the letter "N" in the top left corner and the number "10" in the bottom right corner

Check out the outside front cover of Issue 10 of Nanoscale Horizons! Can you spot the '10' in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Nanoscale Horizons #NH10years?

In this review, Knauer et al discuss the versatility of nanobodies in modern medicine. Read more here 👇

doi.org/10.1039/D5NH...

💬 Reaching out to other scientists with an idea and seeing shared excitement grow into something bigger. Taking initiative can be the start of something great. #ScientificCommunity

📄 I put my own research ideas into writing for the first time. Submitting grant proposals was scary, but getting positive feedback felt incredibly validating. #GrantWriting

🤝🏻 Conferences were more than just talks. They led to new contacts, fresh input and even potential collaborations. Science thrives on connection. #Networking #Collaboration

💡 What started as a concept turned into concrete ideas and some even into promising results. Creativity and curiosity go hand in hand. #Innovation #Thinking

🧪 A year full of experiments. Not everything worked, but every step taught me something. From failure to real progress, every result moved the project forward. #progress #lablife

Currently writing the final report for my first independent research grant at UDE and realizing how much can happen in just one year.
🧪 Failures & progress
💡 New ideas
🤝🏻 Scientific networking & collaborations
📄 First grand proposals
💬 Taking the initiative
Challenging but incredibly rewarding

Just gave my first own #lecture on „Targeted Protein Degradation“ for Methods in Cancer Research! A milestone for me as a scientist and educator. I‘m truly grateful for the opportunity to teach and share my passion for modern #proteinresearch with our Master students. #teaching #Postdoc #UDE

Molecular Tweezers Block the Functional Pore of a Protein Machine We present symmetric multivalent tweezers as the first class of supramolecular elements designed to cover and functionally block a protein pore. As a model, we chose the enzyme p97, a hexameric AAA-AT...

New Paper out in @jacs.acspublications.org ! 🧪 The Schrader Lab developed multivalent tweezers that symmetrically block the pore of #ATPase #p97, inhibiting substrate unfolding. A new supramolecular approach to target protein machines. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
#SupramolecularChemistry #Tweezers

Thanks to @Research Academy Ruhr and
@unidue.bsky.social for the invitation to the Spring Academy 2025! It was a pleasure to join the panel, share experiences, and hopefully offer new perspectives to the PhD students. 🌱✨Photo (c) @Fabian Strauch
#Science #Networking

Erster Spatenstich für ACTIVE SITES! Der Bau unseres neuen Forschungsgebäudes beginnt – hier werden Wissenschaftler:innen aus den Natur-, Lebens- und Ingenieurwissenschaften zusammenarbeiten. Ab Sommer 2028 werden sie Reaktionsorte ultraschneller Prozesse analysieren.

Victoria and I are listening to various talks on AI, bioinformatics, and their applications, which clearly demonstrate the importance of these topics and their growing influence on other scientific disciplines. #76thkolloquium #mosbach #conference #postdoc #phd @gbmev.bsky.social

The Actin‐Binding Prolyl‐Isomerase Par17 Sustains Its Substrate Selectivity by Interdomain Allostery The human peptidyl-prolyl-cis/trans isomerases (PPIases), Parvulin 14 and Parvulin 17, accelerate the cis/trans isomerization of Xaa-Pro moieties within protein sequences. By modulating the respectiv...

New Paper Published!

During my PhD, I contributed to this exciting project on Par17, a prolyl isomerase with a unique N-terminal extension that regulates substrate specificity and actin interaction.

🔬 Insights from NMR, MS & enzymatic assays.

📖 Read: doi.org/10.1002/prot...

#biochemistry #PhD