Nationality: German
Background:My name is Moritz and I am from Germany. I have a BSc and an MSc in Chemistry from the University of Münster in Germany. During my MSc I had the opportunity to do my first research project during an internship in the chemical industry. I was able to complete my master’s thesis in collaboration with the University Hospital of Münster, where I first came into contact with biomarker research.
My research interests: Biomarker research, analytical chemistry, method development, HPLC-MS, cancer
My PhD goals:Implementing MIPs in the sample preparation workflow of the analysis of biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Small Cell Lung Cancer. Enabling facile and efficient diagnosis processes while improving my knowledge about analytical chemistry and biomarker research.
My hobbies:Traveling, hiking, skiing, cooking, playing guitar and bass
My project in MIPrecise: Robust assays for SCLC biomarkers compatible with home-based PoC sampling
Master thesis: Mass spectrometric analysis of porphyrins of the heme biosynthesis pathway in biological matrices
Porphyrins are aromatic macrocyclic compounds that occur in the biosynthesis of heme. Several pathological changes can occur in humans causing changed porphyrin levels in several biological matrices. For example, porphyrins such as protoporphyrin IX can accumulate in tumor tissue and blood of glioblastoma patients. Accurate and robust porphyrin quantification may thus possibly be of interest to monitor tumor recurrence and aid in diagnosis in a minimally invasive way. The thesis focused on developing an efficient high performance liquid chromatography workflow for the quantification of several porphyrin intermediates using a bioinert biphenyl column with mass spectrometric detection on a triple quadrupole instrument. The method for the sample preparation was developed using anionic solid phase extraction for several biological matrices. The limits of the developed workflow were tested to possibly assess the potential of porphyrins as biomarkers for cancer in possible future applications.