DI Dr. Guntner, BSc. works at the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the JKU (Dept. head: Prof. Wolfgang Buchberger)

Award: Young Analysts Award presented by the Austrian Society for Analytical Chemistry

Publication in the journal Scientific Reports: “Collision Cross-Sections Obtained with Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry as New Descriptor to Predict Blood-Brain Barrier Permeation by Drugs”

Content: Guntner’s dissertation focuses on whether or not - and to what extent - drugs migrate into the body’s central nervous system. They can only have the desired effect once in the system. The award-winning dissertation explores this issue and demonstrates that collision cross-sections of molecules in the gas phase (as determined by ion mobility mass spectrometry) can be used early on during the drug development process to make assertions regarding brain penetration by a pharmaceutically active molecule. This correlation (collision cross sections, cerebral pharmacokinetics) is first described in this dissertation and represents a new possibility to quantitatively determine a molecule’s spatial structure, which in turn is known to have an influence on cerebral pharmacokinetic properties.

About DI Dr. Guntner, BSc., age 28

Area of Research: Predicting molecules’ mode of action when used in medicine

Hobbies: Playing the electric guitar, going to concerts

CV: Guntner studied Technical Chemistry at the JKU, graduating with honors in 2017. He earned his doctorate degree in November 2020, also graduating with honors. As part of his research, he worked and conducted research in Ceské Budjovice at the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Biology Center at the Laboratory of Analytical Biochemistry.