On August 12, the 41st session of the Oujiang Laboratory's “BaiChuan Forum” commenced. Professor Andreas Herrmann, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Materials Research at RWTH Aachen University, delivered an insightful academic presentation titled “Sonopharmacology and Sonogenetics: Activation of Drugs, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids by Ultrasound” to laboratory researchers and graduate students. The lecture was chaired by Professor Wang Yi, Deputy Director of Oujiang Laboratory.
During the presentation, Professor Herrmann clearly explained his team's work combining nucleic acid aptamers and mechanochemistry—a universal molecular technology—with ultrasound to control protein and drug activity. This includes generating macromolecular oligonucleotides with multiple protein/drug binding sites via rolling circle amplification signal amplification technology. Under ultrasound exposure, the covalent bonds in these macromolecules break, activating proteins/drugs. Special emphasis was placed on sonogenetics and sonopharmacology systems, highlighting how ultrasound-induced covalent bond cleavage activates proteins/drugs. drug aptamer binding sites, followed by covalent bond cleavage under ultrasound to activate proteins/drugs. He particularly emphasized the compatibility of sonogenetics and sonopharmacology systems with biological materials.
Following the meeting, attendees engaged in extensive discussions with Professor Herrmann on ultrasound applications in precision medicine. Both parties agreed that strengthening collaboration in ultrasonic genetics and pharmacology holds significant promise for advancing non-invasive early-stage diagnostics and enabling targeted therapies.
RWTH Aachen University is a strategic member of the IDEA Alliance, Europe's premier engineering consortium, and ranks among Germany's 11 leading universities as a member of both the German Excellence Initiative and the TU9 Alliance of German Research Universities. Professor Andreas Herrmann's visit has opened new collaborative platforms and opportunities for Oujiang Laboratory's research in ultrasonics and biomaterials science. Both parties will maintain close communication to advance in-depth collaboration on biomaterials in medical applications, promote academic exchange, and facilitate the translation and clinical application of research outcomes.
