骨骼中的微小磷灰石晶体、由膜形成的囊泡、燃料电池膜中的孔和作为医疗药物载体的微胶囊......所有这些都是比原子大但又太小而无法用肉眼看到的结构是马克斯·普朗克胶体和界面研究所的科学家研究和创造的纳米结构和微结构。这些结构通常是胶体、不同介质中的微小颗粒或两种材料之间的界面。许多结构都可以在自然界中找到。位于波茨坦的研究所的科学家们努力了解它们的组成方式和工作原理，以便模仿它们在新材料或疫苗中的行为。了解这些结构的功能也有助于确定当膜折叠或细胞中物质运输无法正常工作时发生的某些疾病的原因。
胶体和界面研究涉及纳米和微米范围内非常小或非常薄的结构。一方面，这些结构是一个完整的“隐藏维度世界”，另一方面，这些结构的复杂结构和动力学决定了更大系统（例如生物体）的行为。因此，对胶体和界面的更深入理解是众多创新的关键，例如开发“智能”药物载体和生物材料。这需要一种跨学科的方法，将化学合成和仿生材料开发与物理表征和理论建模相结合。MPIKG研究的纳米和微观结构由特殊分子组成，这些分子根据自组织原理“自行”构建结构。
Tiny apatite crystals in bone, vesicles formed from membranes, pores in fuel cell membranes, and microcapsules used as medical drug carriers...... All of these are structures larger than an atom but too small to see with the naked eye nanostructures and microstructures studied and created by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces. These structures are usually colloids, tiny particles in different media, or interfaces between two materials. Many structures can be found in nature. Scientists at the institute in Potsdam strive to understand how they are composed and how they work in order to mimic their behaviour in new materials or vaccines. Understanding the function of these structures can also help determine the causes of certain diseases that occur when membranes fold or the transport of materials in cells fails to function properly.
Colloidal and interfacial studies involve very small or very thin structures on the nano and micron scales. On the one hand, these structures are a complete "world of hidden dimensions", on the other hand, the complex structure and dynamics of these structures determine the behavior of larger systems, such as living organisms. A deeper understanding of colloids and interfaces is therefore key to numerous innovations, such as the development of "smart" drug carriers and biomaterials. This requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines chemical synthesis and biomimetic material development with physical characterization and theoretical modeling. The nano - and microscopic structures studied by MPIKG consist of special molecules that build their structures "on their own" according to the principle of self-organization.