Gero Decher is a German chemist and Distinguished Professor ("Professeur classe exceptionnelle") at the Faculty of Chemistry of
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
. He is best known for his seminal role in the development of
polyelectrolyte
Polyelectrolytes are polymers whose repeating units bear an electrolyte group. Ion#Anions and cations, Polycations and polyanions are polyelectrolytes. These groups dissociation (chemistry), dissociate in aqueous solutions (water), making the pol ...
multilayers, which is today known as “
layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly”, a simple yet powerful nanofabrication method that has enabled the development of entirely new technologies, such as
biocompatible
Biocompatibility is related to the behavior of biomaterials in various contexts. The term refers to the ability of a material to perform with an appropriate host response in a specific situation. The ambiguity of the term reflects the ongoing de ...
coatings on
medical device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...
s, ultrastrong
nanocomposite
Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm) or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.
The id ...
s,
neural interfaces, charge-storage devices, gas separation, fire retardants, and
gene delivery
Gene delivery is the process of introducing foreign genetic material, such as DNA or RNA, into host cells. Gene delivery must reach the genome of the host cell to induce gene expression. Successful gene delivery requires the foreign gene delive ...
platforms. According to CNRS International Magazine, Decher's work has “sparked a small revolution in materials science”.
Layer-by-layer assembly is now an established part of the
nanobiotechnology
Nanobiotechnology, bionanotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blan ...
curriculum.
Decher's work on the
self-assembly
Self-assembly is a process in which a disordered system of pre-existing components forms an organized structure or pattern as a consequence of specific, local interactions among the components themselves, without external direction. When the ...
and buildup of multilayer films by alternating application of
anionic and cationic components during the early 1990s is generally credited for the revitalization of the
layer-by-layer assembly technique and its current prevalence in
nanoscience
The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...
.
His 1997 article on “fuzzy nanoassemblies” published in
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
Magazine highlighted the potential of
layer-by-layer assembly, and was identified by ISI as 8th most cited among all journal articles in chemistry in the decade 1997–2007. This article has been cited over 8000 times as of March 2019.
Over his career, Decher's research has focused on the
layer-by-layer assembly method,
macromolecule
A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biophysical processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms. Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The ...
s at interfaces,
nanocomposite
Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm) or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.
The id ...
(bio)materials, (bio)functional
nanoparticle
A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is usually defined as a particle of matter that is between 1 and 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 1 ...
s, functional coatings,
thin-film
A thin film is a layer of material ranging from fractions of a nanometer (monolayer) to several micrometers in thickness. The controlled synthesis of materials as thin films (a process referred to as deposition) is a fundamental step in many ap ...
devices and nano-organized multi-materials in general. His current research is centered around the assembly of multi-
nanocomposite
Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm) or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.
The id ...
s with complex
anisotropies
Anisotropy () is the property of a material which allows it to change or assume different properties in different directions, as opposed to isotropy. It can be defined as a difference, when measured along different axes, in a material's physic ...
.
Education and academic career
Decher studied chemistry at
Philipps Universität, in his hometown of
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Prior to completing his Diploma thesis with Gernot Boche on the
NMR spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...
of carbanions, he spent a year working with William Russey at
Juniata College
Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a co-educational school, it was the first college started by members of the Church of the Brethren as a center for vocational learning for those wh ...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. In 1986 he obtained his PhD in
organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...
from
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
, Germany, working in the laboratory of
Helmut Ringsdorf on drug-carrying polymers and lyotropic liquid crystals. He then took up a position as a postdoctoral fellow at
Ciba-Geigy AG in
Fribourg
, neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne
, twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France)
, website = www.ville-fribourg.ch
, Location of , Location of ()
() o ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, where he worked with Bernd Tieke on non-centrosymmetric
Langmuir-Blodgett films. From 1988 to 1994 Decher was an Assistant Professor with Helmuth Möhwald at
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...
, where he began his research on the development of
layer-by-layer assembly as part of his
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in
physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...
. From 1994 to 1995 he was Visiting Professor at
Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, and was promoted to Full Professor of Chemistry in 1995. His research laboratories are located at the
CNRS Institut Charles Sadron in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he served as Deputy Director from 2001 to 2009. He was appointed Distinguished Professor by
Université Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur University (''Université Louis-Pasteur''), also known as Strasbourg I or ULP was a large university in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. As of 15 January 2007, there were 18,847 students enrolled at the university, including around 3, ...
(now Université de Strasbourg) in 2006.
Professional achievements
Decher is a member of the International Center for Frontier Research in Chemistry (ICFRC) and of the excellence cluster “Nanostructures and their Environment”, both in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. He is also a Senior Member of the
Institut Universitaire de France
The Institut Universitaire de France (IUF, Academic Institute of France), is a service of the French Ministry of Higher Education that distinguishes each year a small number of university professors for their research excellence, as evidenced by t ...
(IUF).
Further distinctions awarded to Decher include the Emilia Valori Grand Prix of the
Académie des sciences (France)
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at th ...
for Nanobiotechnology in 2009,
the ECIS–Rhodia European Colloid & Interface Prize in 2010,
and the International Award of the
Society of Polymer Science Japan in 2013. In 2015 he was selected as a participant for the
Members of European Parliament Scientist Pairing Scheme, where he was teamed up with a member of the European Parliament.
References
External links
Research website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decher, Gero
1956 births
20th-century German chemists
Living people
21st-century German chemists
Scientists from Marburg