Telephone (+49)231 755-2339
Fax (+49)231 755-2341
Laboratory of Plant and Process Design Emil-Figge-Str. 70 Geschossbau 2 44227 Dortmund Germany
Room G2-R3.20
Kai Stückenschneider studied Molecular Biology (B.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Gelsenkirchen. He finished his Bachelor studies with an external thesis at the „University of Edinburgh Centre for Cardiovascular Science“ dealing with the establishment of Optical Projection Chromatography in order to examine renal development during murine development. Hereafter, he graduated in Molecular Biology focussing on bioengineering at the UAS Gelsenkirchen. During his associated Research Project / Master Thesis he was busy on the Process development of Alternative adsorbents for the purification of a polyclonal immunoglobulin preparation at Fresenius Biotech GmbH in Munich. Since September 2010 he is working at the Laboratory of Plant and Process Design of TU Dortmund on his PhD. In his research he focuses on the Identification of molecular mechanisms during adsorption of amino acids and proteins from complex aqueous media.
Downstream processing is still the most costly part of biotechnological processes. A more profound understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of downstream processes can help to facilitate process design and the establishment of heuristics. In this project the intrinsic mechanisms of amino acid and protein adsorption are investigated. We start at the very basis of the separation step (adsorption), namely on the molecular level. This requires a solid base of experimentation, e.g. column experiments using standard amino acid solutions and, later on, more complex mixtures containing possible other metabolites. This will be supported by modeling on a molecular level to identify the moieties involved during the adsorption step, and to determine structural changes of the amino acid / protein molecules. Based on this profound knowledge on the molecular level, eventually heuristics can be established to facilitate scale-up and downstream processes in a more cost-efficient way.
