马克斯普朗克生物物理研究所起源于1921年由法兰克福市民成立的“麦地那物理研究所”,1948年2月,在Otto Hahn的主持下,该研究所被重新建立为马克斯·普朗克生物物理研究所。研究主要集中在嵌入生物膜或与生物膜相关的蛋白质上。作为细胞内部和细胞周围液体之间的连接,这些膜蛋白控制物质的运输和生物体内的信息传递。因此,它们在研究身体功能和疾病或开发新药时发挥着重要作用。膜蛋白充当通道、转运蛋白或分子传感器,用于细胞与其环境之间物质和信息交换,也对细胞内的转运也很重要。研究所的科学家使用电子显微镜和X射线晶体学来分析这些蛋白质的结构。作为实验研究的理想补充,这些分子过程也在计算机中建模,以便定量描述它们并详细了解潜在机制。
The Max Planck Institute of Biophysics originated from the "Medina Institute of Physics" founded by the citizens of Frankfurt in 1921. In February 1948, the Institute was re-established as the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics under the chairmanship of Otto Hahn. Research has focused on proteins embedded in or associated with biofilms. As connections between the fluid inside and around cells, these membrane proteins control the transport of substances and the transmission of information within living organisms. As such, they play an important role in studying body functions and diseases or in developing new drugs. Membrane proteins act as channels, transporters or molecular sensors for the exchange of materials and information between cells and their environment, and are also important for intracellular transport. Scientists at the institute used electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography to analyze the structure of the proteins. As an ideal complement to experimental studies, these molecular processes are also modelled in computers in order to describe them quantitatively and understand the underlying mechanisms in detail.