Synthesis of boron-cluster containing amino acids and preparation of their polymers Vom Fachbereich Biologie/Chemie der Universität Bremen genehmigte DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften -Dr. rer. nat. - von Irina N. Slepukhina aus Ekaterinburg (Russland) Bremen 2006 Tag des öffentlichen Kolloquiums: 26.04.2006 Gutachter der Dissertation: 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Detlef Gabel 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Dieter Wöhrle I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following persons: • My supervisor, Prof. Dr. Detlef Gabel, for accepting me as a PhD-student, for the interesting theme of my PhD-work, for help, good advice and a lot of patience. • Prof. Dr. Dieter Wöhrle for being my co referent. • Prof. Dr. Gerd-Volker Röschenthaler for being my examinator. • Dr. Thomas Dülcks for help in recording and analyzing the mass spectra, for introducing me to the theory of mass spectrometry. • Dr. Klaus Rischka for help in recording and analyzing the MALDI-TOF spectra. • Renate Alberts, for support and helpfulness. • Barbara Hoffmann-Gabel, for support and advice in my oral presentations. • Members of working group of Prof. Detlef Gabel for nice atmosphere during the work and many interesting discussions and advice. • The Ernst A. C. Lange Foundation for support. • My parents for their continuous encouragement.