Our research group is focused on the flow behaviour of complex fluids such as polymers or blood. Most of our work is done in our lab at Saarland University https://www.uni-saarland.de/lehrstuhl/wagner.html

As part of my honorary professorship at the University of Luxembourg, my biophysical research is conducted in cooperation with the local research groups.

The quantitative description of the mechanical properties of biological cells is one of the main contributions that physics can make to modern biotechnology. For example, cancer cells differ significantly in their stiffness from healthy cells. Previous high-throughput methods for determining the mechanical properties generally rely on model-based interpretations of cell deformations in hydrodynamic flow. We aim to use Brillouin scattering with our cooperation partner Dr. Jörg Baller at the University of Luxembourg to determine the viscoelastic properties of the cell interior. Brillouin scattering involves using a highly focused laser beam to determine the speed and attenuation of sound waves. This provides direct information about the viscoelastic properties of the cell.