Research
The research activities at DoSChem are structured around three focus areas to provide clarity and thematic orientation. This structure supports the organization of academic activities while remaining open and flexible for all students and supervisors.
Each focus area is coordinated by a panel that develops dedicated initiatives, such as teaching formats, workshops, or retreats.
Focus Area A
Theoretical & Computational Chemistry
Advanced quantum‑chemical and computational methods are used to analyse molecular structures, spectroscopic properties and chemical reactivity. High‑precision electronic‑structure calculations and modern approaches in molecular reaction dynamics provide fundamental insights into chemical processes and enable quantitative predictions for molecules, biological systems and functional materials.
Functional & Sustainable Materials
Research focuses on materials essential for energy, environment, mobility, information technology and medicine. Work spans polymers, composites, metals, semiconductors, ceramics, thermoelectrics, hybrid materials and catalysts. Sustainable synthesis, efficient resource use and the design of functional nano‑ and microstructures are central, supported by both bottom‑up and top‑down strategies and advanced characterisation techniques.
Focus Area B
Bio‑ & Environmental Analytics
High‑performance analytical methods are applied to investigate biomolecules, their interactions and their environmental context. The faculty’s long‑standing international reputation is rooted in decades of expertise in rapid, comprehensive molecular analysis. A key strength lies in combining separation techniques with ultra‑sensitive detection — increasingly mass spectrometry — to resolve complex samples with maximal depth.
Food Chemistry & Physiology
Research addresses functional food ingredients, molecular mechanisms relevant to nutrition and food safety, and the toxicological evaluation of food components. As Austria’s only site uniting food chemistry and food toxicology, the faculty enables strong interdisciplinary collaborations. Current topics include interactions between food components and chemotherapeutics, mycotoxin research and emerging questions in nanotoxicology.
Supervisors of Food Chemistry & Physiology
Focus Area C
Synthesis & Catalysis
Work in this field centres on the synthesis and reactivity of bioactive molecules, including the development of new synthetic methods, tailored transformations and the optimisation of established processes. Particular emphasis is placed on natural products — hydrocarbons, macrolides, peptides and proteins — whose synthesis, modification and structural analysis support applications in industry, life sciences and medicine.
Biological & Medicinal Chemistry
Research spans the synthesis, isolation and functional analysis of complex natural products and biomolecules, from small molecules to biopolymers. Metal‑based coordination compounds with potential anticancer activity (some already in clinical trials) are a major focus. Combined with tumour‑targeting strategies and advanced tissue‑distribution analysis, innovative therapeutic approaches are developed in close collaboration with the Medical University of Vienna.
New methods for selective peptide and protein modification enable the study of biologically relevant variants involved in neurodegeneration and cancer development.
