Contact

Prof. Dr. Karim Fahmy

Head
Biophysics
k.fahmyhzdr.de
Phone: +49 351 260 2952
+49 351 260 3601

Cooperations

Department of Biophysics

Research

The Biophysics Department conducts interdisciplinary research at the interface of biomolecular function, physical chemistry and radiochemistry. The activities contribute to the Helmholtz Research Programmes Nuclear Safety and Cancer Research in the Helmholtz-Association. We are member of the Cluster of Excellence "Physics of Life" (PoL) in Dresden.

We are particularly interested in:

structural and dynamic aspects of biomembranes
conformational transitions in membrane proteins
interactions between (radio)metals and biomolecules
effects of metals and radionuclides on the metabolism of microorganisms (Televised MDR report)

Education

The Biophysics department participates in the Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB) supported by the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments.

Practicals on Molecular Spectroscopy and Calorimetry are offered. The following lectures are held at the technische Universität Dresden and are elgible for the Master Specialization "Soft Condensed Matter and Biological Physics":

Biological Thermodynamics (English, summer semester)
Biophysical Methods (German, winter semester)

Seminar lectures for the International BIOTEC-Master Programme,

Vibrational Spectroscopy (English)
Absorption and Fluorescence Spectroscopy (English)

Experimental Methods

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
Circular dichroism
Static and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy
Calorimetry
Mass-Spectroscopy

Spectroscopic data are evaluated in combination with Density Functional Theory to understand photochemoical and photophysical properties of organic complexes of actinides.

Latest publication

Selective recovery of Cu from copper mold production waste by organic ligands

Choudhary, S.; Dhiman, S.; Hintersatz, C.; Matys, S.; Kutschke, S.; Tsushima, S.; Pollmann, K.; Saravanan, V.; Jain, R.

Abstract

In the present study, organic acids - oxalic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid and siderophore Desferrioxamine B were evaluated for their efficiencies to selectively recover Cu from its mold production waste. XRD analysis showed that copper mold production waste mainly consisted of Fe and Cu. The complete dissolution of this waste in aqua regia and subsequent analysis via ICP-MS revealed metal contents of 355.3 mg/g Fe and 293.9 mg/g Cu. Among all the organic acids, citric acid had the highest leaching efficiency (58.5 %) for Fe while leaching <1 % of Cu. Whereas, the leaching of Cu and Fe was poor in oxalic acid medium and Cu leaching was also negligible in tartaric acid medium. Only Fe showed 11.2 % leaching efficiency at 2 mol/L tartaric acid. The step-by-step leaching of production waste with citric acid lead to 100 % leaching of Fe while leaving 93.1 % of Cu with a yield of >99 % in the solid residue in the 4th step. Further, the siderophore Desferrioxamine B could effectively leach Fe (91.2 %) while 21.4 % leaching of Cu in 30 days. The presence of Fe impedes the leaching of Cu from the waste as demonstrated by leaching and DFT calculations due to higher stability of Fe-citrate and Fe-desferrioxamine B complex compared to Cu-organic complexes. This recycling technique described herein is simple, reliable and environmentally friendly for recovery of Cu from copper mold production waste.

Keywords: Selective leaching; Citric acid; Recovery; Desferrioxamine B; Thermodynamic parameters; Density functional theory calculations

Related publications

Data publication: Selective recovery of Cu from copper mold production waste …
ROBIS: 39298 cites this (Id 39271) publication
Data publication: Selective recovery of Cu from copper mold production waste …
ROBIS: 39298 HZDR-primary research data are used by this (Id 39271) publication

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 12(2024), 113398
DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113398

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-39271

More publications

Team

Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Head
Prof. Dr. Karim Fahmy	801/P301	2952 3601	k.fahmyhzdr.de
Employees
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Jenny Philipp	801/P303	3247 3568	j.philipphzdr.de
Prof. Dr. Satoru Tsushima	801/P302	2978	s.tsushimahzdr.de
Other employees
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Dr. Charlotte Kielar	801/P303	3247 3892	c.kielarhzdr.de

Physical Chemistry of Biomolecular Condensates

Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Head
Dr. Ellen Adams	801/P301	2911	e.adamshzdr.de
Employees
Name	Bld./Office	+49 351 260	Email
Artur Czajkowski	801/P303	3375	a.czajkowskihzdr.de
Likhitha Chakra Priya Pulibandla	801/P303	3375	l.pulibandlahzdr.de
Manthan Raj	801/P303	3375	m.rajhzdr.de
Juliane Tippmann			j.tippmannhzdr.de
Abhirami Udayabanu			a.udayabanuhzdr.de