Start of funding 01.07.2026

Optimization of Hybrid Electrochemical Methods in Chromatography (OHMIC)

Prof. Dr. Sonja Berensmeier
Technische Universität München
Chair of Bioseparation Imaging

Prof. Dr. Pedro de Souza
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Chemial and Biomolecular Engineering



The OHMIC project combines experimental bioseparation research at the Technical University of Munich with physics-based modeling at the University of California, Los Angeles. The project aims to further develop potential-controlled adsorption as a tunable principle for chromatographic and membrane-based separation processes. By applying electrical potentials, binding and elution of biomolecules, including proteins and polynucleotides such as DNA, shall be controlled in a targeted and mild manner. The TUM team focuses on prototypes, material selection, and experimental validation, while the UCLA team contributes models linking electrical double-layer phenomena to process-scale behavior. Joint exchange visits and workshops in Los Angeles and Munich will closely integrate modeling and experimental data. The project will focus on controllable separation processes for biotechnologically relevant molecules. OHMIC is expected to generate design rules, benchmark datasets, and the basis for joint publications. In the long term, the project aims to contribute to more efficient, milder, and more precisely controllable downstream processes for biotechnological products.