User:Indlekoferw/Sandbox Gerhard Schwarz

Gerhard Schwarz (born 3 February 1930 in Bremen) is a German physicist and one of the founding fathers of the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, Switzerland.

Life
Gerhard Schwarz studied 1950-1955 at the University of Göttingen; in 1958, he received his Ph.D. from the same institution for work performed under supervision of the later Nobel Laureate Manfred Eigen. Interrupted only by postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania 1960-1962, Gerhard Schwarz continued his research in Eigen’s group at the Max Planck Institute for Physical Chemistry until 1969. After his habilitation 1968 at the Braunschweig University of Technology (TU Braunschweig), he was appointed Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. Schwarz retired in 2000.

Work
In his work, Gerhard Schwarz investigated the molecular mechanisms displayed by membrane-active substances with a particular emphasis on the physicochemical aspects of the interactions of peptides and proteins with lipid membranes. Towards this goal, Schwarz continuously advanced kinetic measurement methods for the study of rapid chemical processes. Another important achievement was the development of the so-called “mass conservation plot” method, which allowed the model-free analysis of binding isotherms and the elucidation of the thermodynamic processes involved. His work provided significant insights into the molecular mechanisms of a variety of membrane functions such partitioning equilibria, pore formation, antibiotic permeation, and binding studies.

Awards and honors

 * 1967 Nernst-Haber-Bodenstein Prize of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry
 * 1994 Boris Rajewsky Prize for Biophysics (Max Planck Institute, Frankfurt)

Notable publications

 * Schwarz G. (2000). A universal thermodynamic approach to analyze biomolecular binding experiments. Biophys. Chem.; 86: 119-29.
 * Hellmann N. and Schwarz G. (1998). Peptide-liposome association. A critical examination with mastoparan X. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 267-277.
 * Taylor SE, Schwarz G. (1997). The molecular area characteristics of the HIV-1 gp41-fusion peptide at the air/water interface. Effect of pH. Biochim Biophys Acta.;1326: 257-64.
 * Schwarz G, Blochmann U. (1993). Association of the wasp venom peptide mastoparan with electrically neutral lipid vesicles. Salt effects on partitioning and conformational state. FEBS Lett.; 318:172-6.
 * Stankowski S, Schwarz G. (1989). Lipid dependence of peptide-membrane interactions. Bilayer affinity and aggregation of the peptide alamethicin. FEBS Lett.;250: 556-60.