Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Rohatschek

Research Unit of Biomechanics

Function: Project Assistant

Room Number: BE 01 05

Further affiliations: Biointerface Doctoral School

email: andreas.rohatschek@tuwien.ac.at

phone: +43 1 58801 31734

Office hours: on appointment


About me:

My journey in the scientific world started by attending the College of Chemistry in Vienna (HBLVA Rosensteingasse). After graduating and receiving a VET (Vocational Education and Training) diploma I took the opportunity to work as a technical clerk in a cable development laboratory where I gained insight in the working world.

I continued my path by pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Biotechnology and a Master’s degree in Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU). I earned the opportunity to conduct my Bachelor’s thesis (”Chemiluminescence measurements of aged and non aged polymer surfaces”) at the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology (OFI). As for my Master’s thesis (”Disinfection of Enterobacteria phage MS2 by Chlorine dioxide as related to the Tailing phenomenon”), I performed research at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry (LCE) under the supervision of Prof. Tamar Kohn.
Currently, I am conducting my PhD at TU Wien within the Biointerface doctoral training program in the lab of Prof. Philipp J.Thurner at the Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics (ILSB). In my interdisciplinary doctoral thesis (‘Mechanical assessment of tropocollagen molecules’) I combine surface chemistry methods with atomic force microscopy. Additionally, I received training and education on the surface force apparatus (SFA) during a research stay at the CNR-NANOTEC of Italy in the research division Rende (CS).


Research:

My current research interest lies in the field of experimental biomechanics. In more detail, I focus on collagen mechanics on the molecular level and collagen supramolecular structures (i.e. collagen fibrils) and modifications (i.e. mineralisation).


The main methods I use for my research:

• Atomic force microscopy (AFM) – Imaging and Single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) mode
• Surface chemistry – Cysteine-maleimide chemistry based protein bioconjugation