Adjunct Associate Professor
Universitaet Konstanz
Fachbereich Chemie
Fach M709
D-78457 Konstanz
Germany
Email: crichert@probe.chemie.uni-konstanz.de

Research Interests:

Please visit the Richert Group Home Page

Dr. Richert's research has the general theme of using the intrinsic reactivity and molecular recognition properties of known natural biomolecules to construct analogs that fulfill a new, desired biological function. This concept has been applied to porphyrinoids used as sensitizers for photodynamic therapy of tumors and to oligonucleotides used as hybridization probes on DNA microarrays. High fidelity microarrays can be generated with probes that suppress fraying at the termini and that form more stable base pairs between adenine and thymine. Further, his group studies DNA that stimulates the innate immune system of vertebrates. Such DNA may be developed into adjuvants for vaccines and as therapeutic agents for certain allergic disorders. A recent focus of Richert's work is on non-enzymatic primer extension reactions. These can be accelerated through judicious choice of nucleotide activation and chemical modification of template, primer and assisting oligonucleotides. The purely chemical reactions may become attractive as alternatives to polymerase-catalyzed assays for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms and other variations in the human genome. Techniques employed in Richert's research include organic synthesis, selection, and structural characterization by multidimensional NMR and molecular dynamics.

Recent Publications:

Dogan, Z., Paulini, R., Rojas Stutz J.A.,. Narayanan S, and Richert, C. 2004. 5'-Tethered stilbene derivatives as fidelity- and affinity-enhancing modulators of DNA duplex stability. J. Am. Chem. soc. 126: 4762-4763.

Tuma J., Paulini R., Rojas Stutz J.A., and Richert, C. 2004. How much π-stacking do DNA termini seek? Solution structure of a self-complementary DNA hexamer with trimethoxystilbenes capping the terminal base pairs. Biochemistry 43: 15680-15687.

Plutowski U., and Richert C. 2005. A direct glimpse of cross-hybridization: background-passified microarrays that allow mass spectrometric detection of captured oligonucleotides. Angew. Chem. 117: 627-631.

Narayanan S., Dalpke A.H., Siegmund K., Heeg K., and Richert C. 2003. CpG oligonucleotides with modified termini and nicked dumbbell structure show enhanced immunostimulatory activity. J. Med. Chem. 46: 5031-5044.