With approximately 36,500 students from about 130 nations, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is one of the ten largest universities in Germany. As the only comprehensive university in Rhineland-Palatinate, JGU combines almost all academic disciplines under one roof, including the Mainz University Medical Center, the School of Music, and the Mainz Academy of Arts. This is a unique feature in the German academic landscape. With 75 fields of study and a total of 242 degree courses, including 107 Bachelor’s and 118 Master’s degree programs, JGU offers an extraordinarily broad range of courses. Some 4,150 academics, including 540 professors, teach and conduct research in JGU's more than 150 departments, institutes, and clinics (as of December 1, 2011; financed by federal and third-party funding).

Within the Institute of Organic Chemistry the groups of Professor Rudolf Zentel and Dr. Matthias Barz are working on the synthesis and characterization of polymers for drug delivery and imaging. The institute offers laboratories for more than 30 researchers providing in house access to all analytical methods needed to characterized the synthesized polymers and polymeric nanoparticles. In addition, both PIs are members of the steering committee of the collaborative research center for nanoparticle based tumor immune therapy (CRC 1066). While Professor Rudolf Zentel acts in addition as the speaker, Dr. Matthias Barz leads the graduate center of the CRC and is speaker of the junior PIs of the center.

Professor Rudolf Zentel

Professor Zentel is trained in polymer synthesis and characterization, with more than 35 years in both research areas. His current research focuses on liquid crystalline polymers, polymer hybrids for optoelectronics (Speaker International Research Training Group (IRTG 1404), Mainz) and polymers for nanoparticle based tumor therapies (CRC1066). Publication comprises more than 420 peer-reviewed articles.

Scientist Matthias Barz

Dr. Barz is trained in polymer synthesis, characterization and cell biology of polymers. He became Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude) in 2009. He is currently head of a junior research group at the Institute of Organic Chemistry. His research focuses on synthesis and characterization of polypept(o)ides and their use for the construction of functional nanoparticles (PeptoMicelles, PeptoNanoGels, PeptoCollloids and PeptoPlexes). Publication comprises more than 40 peer-reviewed articles.