Ralf Jungmann, Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

Our research interest is the combination of tools from structural and dynamic DNA nanotechnology with single-molecule fluorescence methods, especially the development and application of novel super-resolution microscopy techniques to answer questions in modern biological and biomedical research.
Specifically, we are interested in harnessing the unique programmability of DNA molecules to develop microscopy techniques (DNA-PAINT) that allow us to perform highly multiplexed (hundreds of targets), ultra-resolution (<5 nm), and quantitative (integer counting of molecules) fluorescence imaging of biological systems (i.e. proteins and nucleic acids in single cells).

Using DNA-based barcoding and super-resolution imaging approaches, we eventually want to unravel the location and interplay of a multitude of genes, RNAs, and proteins in a truly quantitative fashion with highest spatial resolution in single cells and on cell surfaces.