Partners

The PSCM Collaborative Partner Organizations (CPOs) are selected research groups which are granted privileged access to the PSCM equipment and services within the context of long-term science-driven programs. CPOs are selected for a period of three years in an open competition process. This section introduces briefly the principal investigators of the current and former PSCM partnerships.

ILL
Roberta Angelini and Barbara Ruzicka
Soft Matter Laboratory ISC-CNR
Partners since 2 February 2021
Roberta Angelini studied physics at the University of L’Aquila, Italy and she got her PhD at Université J. Fourier, Grenoble, France with an experimental thesis developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in the Inelastic X-ray Scattering group. After two years postdoc at Sapienza University of Rome, she become researcher. Barbara Ruzicka studied physics at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, where she also received her PhD. She did a first postdoctoral period at Daresbury synchrotron, UK, and a second one at Zurich ETH in Switzerland. They are actually researchers of the Institute of Complex Systems (ISC) of Centre of National Research (CNR) in Rome where they are respectively responsible of the “Soft Matter Laboratory: Rheology and Calorimetry” and of the “Soft Matter Laboratory: Light Scattering” The Experimental Soft Matter group of ISC-CNR focuses on the study of the structure and dynamics of soft matter systems, of their phase transitions and phase diagrams. In particular, it deals with the investigation of equilibrium and non-equilibrium states as liquid, gel, glass and jammed states, and unusual phase diagrams in soft materials, such as charge colloidal clays and colloidal microgels. The use of conventional laboratory techniques is complemented with X-rays and neutron scattering in Large Scale Facilities.
Publications
1
Nigro V., Buratti E., Limosani F., Angelini R., Dinelli F., Franco S., Nichelatti E., Piccinini M., Vincenti M.A., Montereali R.M., Ruzicka B., Spin-coating deposition of thermoresponsive microgel thin films, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 674, 2023, 131918 Instruments involved: ID02
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ILL
Tommy Nylander and Adrian Rennie
Lund and Uppsala University
Partners Since 25 January 2022
Professor Tommy Nylander, Physical Chemistry, Dept. of Chemistry, Lund University, Sweden. Professor Nylander completed his PhD in Biophysical Technology at Lund University and did a postdoc at Applied Mathematics, ANU, Australia. The main theme of his scientific activity has been to relate interfacial behaviour of surface-active molecule to their solution behaviour. The focus has been on molecules of biological origin, e.g. proteins and lipids, and the self-assembled structures they form in bulk and at interfaces, which are studied using interfacial techniques such as ellipsometry, surface film balance, QCM-D and neutron reflectometry as well as with bulk scattering techniques. Professor Adrian Rennie, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Neutron Scattering, Uppsala University, has been studying soft matter for many years working with polymers, colloids and interfaces.  Relating properties to structure in these materials has involved extensive use of X-ray and neutron techniques as well as laboratory experiments. Uppsala University and Lund University have jointly joined PSCM as collaborative partner organisations. Their Departments of Chemistry has a long experience of working together to adress challenges in soft condensed matter by using a range of neutron and x-ray techniques. This involves not only solving scientific problems, but also to develop and build up sample environment as well as modelling tools. The joint experience of these two institution bring a clear added-value to the PSCM and to the soft condensed matter user community as a whole. Both organisations have a large community of neutron and x-ray users that frequently conduct successful experiments, in particularly in colloid and interface science as well as biophysics at both ESRF and ILL. These users benefit from a unique platform for better exploiting the complementary aspects of neutron and synchrotron techniques. A prioritiesed area is the training of early-stage researchers in the field of neutron and synchrotron techniques applied in soft matter research that will be provided the provision for onsite sample preparation through PSCM. Furthermore, the PSCM will enhance on a national and international level their visibility in the soft matter field.
Publications
1
Del Giudice A., Gubitosi M., Sthoer A., Köhler S., Ayscough S., Skoda M.W.A., Nylander T., Halthur T., Towards natural care products: Structural and deposition studies of bio-based polymer and surfactant mixtures, Colloids and Surfaces A, 2024, Vol. 698.0, pp. 134365-1-134365-11. Instruments involved: BM29_BIOSAXS
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ESRF
Sarah Köster
Institut für Röntgenphysik, Universität Göttingen
Partner since 23 May 2020
Co-proposer : Tim Salditt   Sarah Köster studied physics at the University of Ulm, Germany, and performed PhD research work at the University of Ulm, Boston University and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen, Germany. In 2006, she received her PhD from the University of Göttingen. After a postdoctoral period at Harvard University, USA, she returned to Göttingen, where she leads the group “Cellular Biophysics” at the Institute for X-Ray Physics. She is a full professor since 2017 and received an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2016. The research work of the Köster group is centered around understanding the relation between molecular architecture of cytoskeletal elements, mesoscale structure formation and cellular mechanics, dynamics and function. The main goal of the PSCM partnership is the further development of innovative x-ray based imaging methods for cells, including state-of-the art sample environments based on microfluidic techniques.  Copyright of the photo : Öffentlichkeitsarbeit Universität Göttingen / Klein und Neumann, Iserlohn
Publications
5
Komorowski K., Schaeper J., Sztucki M., Sharpnack L., Brehm G., Köster S., Salditt T., Vesicle adhesion in the electrostatic strong-coupling regime studied by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering, Soft Matter, 2020, Vol. 16, pp. 4142-4154. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID2
Denz M., Brehm G., Hémonnot C.Y.J., Spears H., Wittmeier A., Cassini C., Saldanha O., Perego E., Diaz A., Burghammer M., Köster S., Cyclic olefin copolymer as an X-ray compatible material for microfluidic devices, Lab on a Chip, 2018, Vol. 18, pp. 171-178. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID13
Hémonnot C.Y.J., Reinhardt J., Saldanha O., Patommel J., Graceffa R., Weinhausen B., Burghammer M., Schroer C.G., Köster S., X-rays reveal the internal structure of keratin bundles in whole cells, ACS Nano, 2016, Vol. 10, pp. 3553-3561. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID13
Hémonnot C.Y.J., Ranke C., Saldanha O., Graceffa R., Hagemann J., Köster S., Following DNA compaction during the cell cycle by X-ray nanodiffraction, ACS Nano, 2016, Vol. 10, pp. 10661-10670. [DOI] Instruments involved: PSCM only
Saldanha O., Brennich M.E., Burghammer M., Herrmann H., Köster S., The filament forming reactions of vimentin tetramers studied in a serial-inlet microflow device by small angle x-ray scattering, Biomicrofluidics, 2016, Vol. 10, pp. 024108-1-024108-13. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID13
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ESRF
Oriano Francescangeli
Polytechnic University of Marche
 Partner since 23 June 2020
Oriano Francescangeli received his degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of Ancona in 1984. In 1988 he joined the University of Ancona as an assistant professor and in 1999 was appointed associate professor of experimental physics. Since 2011 he is full professor of experimental physics at the Polytechnic University of Marche (UnivPM), Italy. He is currently Scientific Manager of the Advanced X-ray Laboratory and Director of the SIMAU Department at the UnivPM.  The scientific interests of Francescangeli’s group span the field of condensed matter physics primarily investigated by means of X-ray and neutron scattering. After the discovery of cybotaxis in bent-core liquid crystals (LCs) in the early 2000s, his research has focused on new liquid crystalline materials for applications in information technology and biomedicine. The main purpose of the PSCM partnership is to investigate the anchoring properties of new LCs to solid substrates, with focus on the mechanisms of surface anchoring, self-assembling, space arrangement and molecular orientation when the LC layer is limited to extremely small volumes (from a few molecular layers down to a single monolayer).

Former partners

ESRF
Tim Salditt
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
Partner from 4 March 2015 to 4 March 2018
Tim Salditt studied physics in Munich and in Grenoble. He was one of the first users of ESRF in 1993 before he received his PhD from the University of Munich in 1995. Since his Postdoctoral work at Santa Barbara, he is interested in unraveling the structure and interactions of biomolecular systems, with increasing complexity, starting from model systems to the three-dimensional structure of tissues.  After two years as an associate professor at Saarland University, he has accepted a full professorship at the Institute for X-ray physics (IRP) of the University of Göttingen in 2002, where he developed coherent X-ray imaging based on near-field holography with waveguided beams.  Today, the Salditt group investigates soft matter and biomolecular assemblies, from the molecular scale to the level of organelles, cells and tissues. Within the PSCM, they will study structure and interactions of synaptic vesicles, and shed ('X-ray and neutron') light on membrane docking and fusion. To this end, they will use X-ray and neutron small-angle scattering in vesicle suspensions, as well as near-field holography. Photo: 'Alignment of an X-ray optic' Photo Credit: Markus Osterhoff, IRP  
Publications
6
Komorowski K., Schaeper J., Sztucki M., Sharpnack L., Brehm G., Köster S., Salditt T., Vesicle adhesion in the electrostatic strong-coupling regime studied by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering, Soft Matter, 2020, Vol. 16, pp. 4142-4154. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID2
Nicolas J.D., Aeffner S., Salditt T., Radiation damage studies in cardiac muscle cells and tissue using microfocused X-ray beams: Experiment and simulation, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 2019, Vol. 26, pp. 980-990. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID13
Komorowski K., Salditt A., Xu Y., Yavuz H., Brennich M., Jahn R., Salditt T., Vesicle adhesion and fusion studied by small-angle X-ray scattering, Biophysical Journal, 2018, Vol. 114, pp. 1908-1920. [DOI] Instruments involved: BM29_BIOSAXS
Xu Y., Kuhlmann J., Brennich M., Komorowski K., Jahn R., Steinem C., Salditt T., Reconstitution of SNARE proteins into solid-supported lipid bilayer stacks and X-ray structure analysis, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, 2018, Vol. 1860, pp. 566-578. [DOI] Instruments involved: BM29_BIOSAXS ID1
Jahn T., Wilke R.N., Chushkin Y., Salditt T., How many photons are needed to reconstruct random objects in coherent X-ray diffractive imaging?, Acta Crystallographica A, 2017, Vol. 73, pp. 19-29. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID10C
icolas J.D., Bernhardt M., Markus A., Alves F., Burghammer M., Salditt T., Scanning X-ray diffraction on cardiac tissue: Automatized data analysis and processing, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 2017, Vol. 24, pp. 1163-1172. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID13
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ILL
Klaus Huber
Universität Paderborn
Partner from 6 April 2015 to 6 April 2018
Klaus Huber is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Paderborn in Germany. His research interests include polyelectrolytes, nucleation and growth of minerals, and the impact of macromolecular crowding on self-assembly and folding of biopolymers. Experimental expertise lies on light and small angle neutron and x-ray scattering. The project analysed the collapse and aggregation of polyelectrolytes in aqueous solution and the formation of nanoparticles based on silica and amorphous calcium carbonate from supersaturated solution, with a focus on the modulation of these processes. Modulation was induced by suitable additives like metal cations and by the tuning of environmental conditions like temperature and salinity. In particular, metal cation-induced collapse and aggregation of polyelectrolytes with their high relevance for biomineralisation, were investigated by means of time-resolved scattering (TR) techniques such as TR-SAXS and TR-SANS and TR-light scattering.
Publications
8
Carl N., Müller W., Schweins R., Huber K., Controlling self-assembly with light and temperature, Langmuir, 2020, Vol. 36, pp. 223-231. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11
Carl N., Prévost S., Schweins R., Huber K., Contrast variation of micelles composed of Ca2+ and block copolymers of two negatively charged polyelectrolytes, Colloid and Polymer Science, 2020, Vol. Online first, pp. nan. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11 ID2
Carl N., Prévost S., Schweins R., Huber K., Ion-selective binding as a new trigger for micellization of block copolyelectrolytes with two anionic blocks, Soft Matter, 2019, Vol. 15, pp. 8266-8271. [DOI] Instruments involved: BM2 ID2
Carl N., Prévost S., Schweins R., Houston J.E., Morfin I., Huber K., Invertible micelles based on ion-specific interactions of Sr2+ and Ba2+ with double anionic block copolyelectrolytes, Macromolecules, 2019, Vol. 52, pp. 8759-8770. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11 BM2 ID2
Hansch M., Kaub H.P., Deck S., Carl N., Huber K., Reaction enthalpy from the binding of multivalent cations to anionic polyelectrolytes in dilute solutions, Journal of Chemical Physics, 2018, Vol. 148, pp. 114906-1-114906-10. [DOI] Instruments involved: PSCM only
Hansch M., Hamisch B., Schweins R., Prévost S., Huber K., Liquid-liquid phase separation in dilute solutions of poly(styrene sulfonate) with multivalent cations: Phase diagrams, chain morphology, and impact of temperature, Journal of Chemical Physics, 2018, Vol. 148, pp. 014901-1-014901-12. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11 ID2
Urbanski A., Hansch M., Lopez C.G., Schweins R., Hertle Y., Hellweg T., Polzer F., Huber K., Polyacrylates in the presence of an extraordinary monovalent cation-Solution behavior and metal nanoparticle formation, Journal of Chemical Physics, 2018, Vol. 149, pp. 163318-1-163318-11. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11
Saha S., Springer S., Schweinefuss M.E., Pontoni D., Wiebcke M., Huber K., Insight into fast nucleation and growth of zeolitic imidazolate framework-71 by in situ time-resolved light and X-ray scattering experiments, Crystal Growth & Design, 2016, Vol. 16, pp. 2002-2010. [DOI] Instruments involved: ID2
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ILL
Michael Gradzielski
Technische Universität Berlin
Partner from 20 October 2015 to 20 October 2018
Michael  Gradzielski studied chemistry at the Universität Bayreuth, Germany, and  received his PhD there in 1992 (Prof. H. Hoffmann). After a post-doc at the Laboratoire de Physique Statistique at the Ecole Normale  Superieure, Paris (Prof. D. Langevin), he obtained his habilitation for  Physical Chemistry at the Universität Bayreuth in 2000. Since 2004 he is full professor for Physical Chemistry at the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany.  The  research work of the Gradzielski group is concerned with the  physico-chemical characterisation of the properties of colloidal  systems, with a focus on their structural characterisation and structure-property  relations. The main goal of the PSCM partnership is the investigation  of such complex colloidal systems, in particular ones based on biopolymers, by means of neutron and X-ray scattering as well as the suite of complementary techniques available at  the PSCM. Development in the field of pressure-responsive systems is  carried out.
Publications
11
Buchold P., Ram-On M., Talmon Y., Hoffmann I., Schweins R., Gradzielski M., Uncommon structures of oppositely charged hyaluronan/surfactant assemblies under physiological conditions, Biomacromolecules, 2020, Vol. 21, pp. 3498-3511. Instruments involved: D11 IN15
Cavallaro G., Chiappisi L., Gradzielski M., Lazzara G., Effect of the supramolecular interactions on the nanostructure of halloysite/biopolymer hybrids: a comprehensive study by SANS, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and electric birefringence, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2020, Vol. 22, pp. 8193-8202. Instruments involved: D11
Hayward D.W., Chiappisi L., Teo J.H., Prévost S., Schweins R., Gradzielski M., Neutralisation rate controls the self-assembly of pH-sensitive surfactants, Soft Matter, 2019, Vol. 15, pp. 8611-8620. Instruments involved: D11
Micciulla S., Hayward D.W., Gerelli Y., Panzarella A., von Klitzing R., Gradzielski M., Chiappisi L., One-step procedure for the preparation of functional polysaccharide/fatty acid multilayered coatings, Communications Chemistry, 2019, Vol. 2, pp. 61-1-61-11. Instruments involved: D11 D17
Hayward D.W., Chiappisi L., Prévost S., Schweins R., Gradzielski M., A small-angle neutron scattering environment for in-situ observation of chemical processes, Scientific Reports, 2018, Vol. 8, pp. 7299-1-7299-11. Instruments involved: D11
Cavallaro G., Chiappisi L., Pasbakhsh P., Gradzielski M., Lazzara G., A structural comparison of halloysite nanotubes of different origin by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) and Electric Birefringence, Applied Clay Science, 2018, Vol. 160, pp. 71-80. Instruments involved: D11
Schwarze M., Schaefer L., Chiappisi L., Gradzielski M., Micellar enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) of methylene blue with carboxylate surfactants, Separation and Purification Technology, 2018, Vol. 199, pp. 20-26. Instruments involved: D11 D22
Buchold P., Schweins R., Di Z., Gradzielski M., Structural behaviour of sodium hyaluronate in concentrated oppositely charged surfactant solutions, Soft Matter, 2017, Vol. 13, pp. 2253-2263. Instruments involved: D11
Chiappisi L., Leach S.D., Gradzielski M., Precipitating polyelectrolyte-surfactant systems by admixing a nonionic surfactant - a case of cononsurfactancy, Soft Matter, 2017, Vol. 13, pp. 4988-4996. [DOI] Instruments involved: D11
Chiappisi L., Noirez L., Gradzielski M., A journey through the phase diagram of a pharmaceutically relevant microemulsion system, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2016, Vol. 473, pp. 52-59. Instruments involved: PSCM only
Cera L., Chiappisi L., Böttcher C., Schulz A., Schöder S., Gradzielski M., Schalley C.A., PolyWhips: Directional particle transport by gradient-directed growth and stiffening of supramolecular assemblies, Advanced Materials, 2016, Vol. 29, pp. 1604430-1-1604430-8. Instruments involved: PSCM only
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ILL
João Cabral
Imperial College London
Partner from 21 March 2016 to 21 March 2019
João Cabral obtained his first degree in Physics Engineering (IST Lisbon), followed by a stay at the Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (Saclay) with J. Teixeira and MC Bellissent-Funel, and PhD (2002) in polymer thermodynamics at Imperial College London with J. S. Higgins. After a postdoc at NIST (2002-5) in Maryland, USA, with J. F. Douglas, A Karim, and S Hudson, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial, becoming full professor in 2018, enjoying sabbaticals at Fudan (Shanghai) and University of Chicago.  Our PSCM partnership explored the coupling of microfluidics and SANS for the study of complex fluids. We developed microdevice formulators to navigate across the multi-component phase space and flow-processing 'chips' to interrogate complex fluids under complex flows. With L Porcar's magic, we used beamsizes down to 50 microns, enabling us to spatio-temporally map out-of-equilibrium processes in a way that exceeded our expectations. The partnership unlocked several academic collaborations and industrial funding, and resulted in a number of cover articles. Photo: Serge Claisse
Publications
4
Plewka J., Silva G.L., Tscheliessnig R., Rennhofer H., Dias-Cabral C., Jungbauer A., Lichtenegger H.C., Antibody adsorption in protein-A affinity chromatography - in situ measurement of nanoscale structure by small-angle X-ray scattering, Journal of Separation Science, 2018, Vol. 41.0, pp. 4122-4132. Instruments involved: BM26B BM29_BIOSAXS
Lopez C.G., Watanabe T., Adamo M., Martel A., Porcar L., Cabral J.T., Microfluidic devices for small-angle neutron scattering, Journal of Applied Crystallography, 2018, Vol. 51, pp. 570-583. Instruments involved: D22
Adamo M., Poulos A.S., Lopez C.G., Martel A., Porcar L., Cabral J.T., Droplet microfluidic SANS, Soft Matter, 2018, Vol. 14, pp. 1759-1770. Instruments involved: D22
Adamo M., Poulos A.S., Miller R.M., Lopez C.G., Martel A., Porcar L., Cabral J.T., Rapid contrast matching by microfluidic SANS, Lab on a Chip, 2017, Vol. 17, pp. 1559-1569. Instruments involved: D22
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ESRF
Erik Reimhult
Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
Partner from 6 September 2016 to 6 September 2019
Co-proposer : Helga C. Lichtenegger Erik Reimhult studied applied physics at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and received his Ph.D. in 2004 with Prof. Bengt Kasemo. After postdocs at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore (Prof. Wolfgang Knoll) and ETH Zürich in Switzerland (Prof. Marcus Textor), he took up a full professorship in Nanobiotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria in 2010. He now heads the Institute for Biologically Inspired Materials which synthesizes and investigates colloidal systems from nanostructured polymer brush interfaces to bacterial biofilms. The PSCM partnership mainly aims to use both neutron and X-ray methods to shed light on the internal structure and interactions of polymer-grafted core-shell nanoparticles responding to environmental stimuli. This includes their synthesis, polymer shell structure, and response to magnetic fields, temperature, ions, and liquid interfaces.
Publications
4
Zanghellini B., Grünewald T.A., Burghammer M., Rennhofer H., Liegl-Atzwanger B., Leithner A., Lichtenegger H.C., High-resolution large-area imaging of nanoscale structure and mineralization of a sclerosing osteosarcoma in human bone, Journal of Structural Biology, 2019, Vol. 207, pp. 56-66. Instruments involved: ID13
Plewka J., Silva G.L., Tscheliessnig R., Rennhofer H., Dias-Cabral C., Jungbauer A., Lichtenegger H.C., Antibody adsorption in protein-A affinity chromatography - in situ measurement of nanoscale structure by small-angle X-ray scattering, Journal of Separation Science, 2018, Vol. 41, pp. 4122-4132. Instruments involved: BM26B BM29_BIOSAXS
Grünewald T.A., Rennhofer H., Tack P., Garrevoet J., Wermeille D., Thompson P., Bras W., Vincze L., Lichtenegger H.C., Photon energy becomes the third dimension in crystallographic texture analysis, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2016, Vol. 55, pp. 12190-12194. Instruments involved: BM26A BM28
Grünewald T.A., Rennhofer H., Hesse B., Burghammer M., Stanzl-Tschegg S.E., Cotte M., Löffler J.F., Weinberg A.M., Lichtenegger H.C., Magnesium from bioresorbable implants: Distribution and impact on the nano- and mineral structure of bone, Biomaterials, 2016, Vol. 76, pp. 250-260. Instruments involved: ID13 ID21
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