Although continuing technical advances in analytical chemistry allow us to measure complex data with relative ease, analyzing such data is a field of science on its own. Fully exploiting the valuable information you were (or were not) looking for from measured data is exactly the expertise we have at the department for chemometrics. We focus on the development of new or improved data analysis methods, but also on the application of established methods on new types of measurements. Chemometrics finds many practical applications, including but not limited to food safety, healthcare, industrial processing and sustainability. If you would like to contribute to such work, check our website and/or contact us for more information on current projects and internship subjects!
The transition towards a circular society requires us to design new materials and chemistries. This grand challenges requires radically new ways of doing chemical research.
To address this challenge, the Big Chemistry Robotlab uses robots and artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of complex molecular systems and formulations for biomedicine and materials science.
We focus strongly on finding new ways to study, quantify and understand how molecules interact with each other. Depending on the project, there is a more academic focus, or close collaboration with industrial partners.
Currently, the Robotlab is focusing on 3 key questions:
These questions can only be answered by a diverse team of researchers at the interface of chemistry, engineering, biotechnology and AI. We therefore welcome BSc. and MSc. students from all of these backgrounds, either individually or as teams. For more info, reach out to william.robinson@ru.nl and/or mathijs.mabesoone@ru.nl.
Why do two identical cells look different? Cell-to-cell variability (i.e. noise) in gene expression leads to large differences in mRNA and protein levels in cells. This variability can hamper the treatment of diseases such as HIV and cancer. Due to the architectural complexity of a cell a multitude of factors can be identified that heavily influence reaction dynamics, causing gene expression to deviate from predictable behavior. We combine single-molecule and time lapse imaging with cell-free biochemistry approaches to discern key physical, kinetic, and gene circuit-based factors that determine the outcome of cellular reactions at a single-cell level.
How did the first cell form? In the Soft Interfaces group, we aim to understand how a complex system like a living cell could have emerged from simple organic molecules. By self-assembly of peptides, nucleotides and sugars into liquid coacervate droplets, we make synthetic organelles that grow, fuse, split, and act as microreactors for chemical reactions. Many living cells still bear marks of these coacervate droplets in the form of membraneless organelles. In this case, we use a biophysical chemistry approach to investigate what their function is in cell organization.
The study of collisions between individual molecules in the gas phase is one of the most fundamental methods to acquire a detailed understanding of molecular interactions. Our group pioneers the use of Stark decelerators – the analogs for neutral molecules of linear accelerators for charged particles – to obtain full control over molecular motion prior to the collision. We have combined this approach with the most advanced laser detection techniques to visualize how the molecules collide with each other. This combination of techniques is world-wide unique, and yields pictures of the exotic quantum effects that underlie what happens when molecules interact with each other. Our research is very fundamental, and positioned exactly in between physics and chemistry.
How do the active parts of a heterogeneous catalyst actually work? Reactions on the surface of metal clusters
Heterogeneous
catalysts often contain nanometer-sized metal particles. When a
molecule lands on such a particle, its bonds are weakened,
facilitating the reaction. But how this occurs precisely on the
atomic scale is more often than not unknown, hindering the rational
design of more efficient catalysts.
In this project we study elementary reaction steps of such catalytic
reactions (e.g., transforming CO2 into methane or
methanol) on isolated metal clusters using mass-spectrometry and
laser spectroscopy. The student will synthesize the metal clusters
using laser ablation, characterize the reaction with simple molecules
using mass-spectrometry and IR spectroscopy, and carry out
complementary calculations to interpret the obtained spectra and
rationalized reaction pathways.
What exactly happens during a chemical reaction? Our aim is to completely understand and, ultimately, fully control chemical reactions on the molecular level. We therefore study reactive collisions between individual molecules in the gas phase. We use a so-called Zeeman decelerator, which uses time-varying magnetic fields to fully control and manipulate the velocity and quantum state of a reactant before the collision. The products of the reaction are measured with advanced detection methods using lasers and imaging techniques. The combination of well-controlled reactants and high-resolution detection methods allows us to study in high detail what happens with the molecules during a reaction. Besides performing the reactive collision experiments, we develop new detection and imaging techniques, and we use quantum chemistry, models, and Monte Carlo simulations to interpret the data and to explain our observations.
Our group develops and utilizes different detection techniques based on laser
spectroscopy and (real-time) mass spectrometry for monitoring volatile compounds. We perform research in a broad range of applications, from environmental to analysis of biomarkers in human breath. Some of the projects are in collaboration
with colleagues from other departments and/or the academic hospital. We can host physics, science, chemistry, biomedical or molecular life science internships.
Non-invasive detection of biomarkers in human breath: we
develop new methodologies to detect and monitor biochemical processes
in the human body via untargeted and targeted biomarkers in exhaled breath. We combine multivariate analysis tools to relate them to health (diet, exercise, exposure) and diseased status (cancer, infections, etc.).
Sniffing the chemical language of pathogens:We analyze volatile metabolites produced by pathogens as infection-specific biomarkers.
Plasma diagnostics
using spectroscopy: We design, develop and utilize a broadband absorption spectrometer for analyzing discharge plasmas. It is an applied research in the lab, well balanced between physics and chemistry combined with computational modeling and simulation.
Please check our website and fell free to contact us for more information on
current projects and internships.
Our group develops and uses mass spectrometric techniques in combination with advanced infrared and terahertz spectroscopy. Our main scientific focus is in the field of astrochemistry. We aim to understand the chemical evolution in astrophysical environments, such as interstellar star-forming regions or (exo-) planetary atmospheres, by simulating their conditions in the laboratory. For this we apply infrared spectroscopy to obtain vibrational fingerprints of molecules to aid their identification in space. The spectroscopic information allows us to identify molecular structures within isomeric mixtures, and thus to unravel and to understand astrochemical reaction kinetics and networks in great detail both in the gas-phase or in ices.
Turning supramolecular chemistry into life-like materials.
We build chemical systems that combine molecular self-assembly and chemical reactions in fascinating life-like behaviour such as growth, shape transformation, chemotaxis and signal transfer.
Currently, we are developing self-assemblies that organize themselves into wire-like structures – in a (primitive) analogy to the growth of slime mold wires. We aim to use these wires to grow a “chemical computer”, where the self-assembled wires “guide” either molecular or electric signals. Ultimately, we envision to use these wires in self-organizing device interfaces that “determine” the path of samples in lab-on-a-chip applications, or neuromorphic electronics that adapt upon growing new connections in the circuit (in analogy to neurons in the brain).
Our research involves a wide diversity of techniques and approaches, such as supramolecular chemistry, systems chemistry, synthesis, electrochemistry, microscopy, spectroscopy, building devices via 3D printing, automated image analysis, etc.
Currently, we have internship projects available on:
- Combining enzymatic reactions and self-assembly for chemical signal transfer along wires.
- Building and programming robotic devices to control the self-organization of our dynamic wire networks.
- Using electrochemistry for controlled assembly of dynamic, conductive connections in neuromorphic circuits.
- Design and synthesis of molecular building blocks for new concepts in out-of-equilibrium self-assembly to control the growth of the networks.
Depending on your preferences, we will design a project that suits your interest and background. For more info on our research and contact details, please check out our new website: www.korevaarlab.com.
To reduce the impact of our society on global warming and the natural environment we are aiming to switch to the use of renewable energy sources. Currently, society is still dependent on fossil fuels both for energy (coal, natural gas, crude oil) but also for the production of synthetic chemicals (plastics, lubricants etc). One of the largest challenges for the energy transition is the storage of energy. Batteries form a part of the solution. Here at the magnetic resonance research center we investigate the next generation of battery materials. Using 7Li NMR we can for instance look at the mobility of lithium ions in solid electrolytes. We also study the effect of various treatments such as doping of the materials on its ion conductivity and relate that to the structural changes we can detect using NMR on a variety of nuclei. In the internship you can learn how to use a research grade NMR spectrometer and we can tailor your internship towards a more theoretical approach or a more engineering type of project where you can test battery assemblies. If you want to know more, visit our website or even better, talk to us, there always new and challenging projects running.
Large-scale energy storage is becoming increasingly critical to balance the intermittency between renewable energy production and consumption. Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs), based on inexpensive and sustainable redox-active materials, are promising storage technologies. A RFB consists of two tanks of redox-active electrolytes, one catholyte and one anolyte, and its capacity can be scaled up just by increasing the volume of the tanks. The electrolytes flow through an electrochemical cell where redox reactions happen. Due to this design, one of the distinct features of RFBs is the decoupling of their energy storage and power generation, which provides unique opportunities for in situ monitoring. We have developed in situ NMR metrologies to probe the electrolyte in the flow path or in the battery cell (Nature 2020, 579, 224).
Internship projects are available on various aspects of the operando NMR studies of flow batteries, and electrochemical ammonia synthesis or carbon dioxide reduction. These projects are interdisciplinary in nature. We work with colleagues in the Netherlands and across the globe on the following research topics:
Project 1. MRI of flow in advanced redox flow battery electrodes.
Project 2. Synthesizing and understanding redox-active organic molecules for redox flow batteries.
Project 3. Developing coupled benchtop NMR and EPR methods for studying redox flow batteries.
Project 4. Machine-learning analysis and optimization of redox flow batteries.
Project 5. Understanding Li nitridation for electrochemical ammonia synthesis by operando NMR
Project 6. Machine-learning force field calculation of reaction intermediates for Li-mediated ammonia synthesis
Life is supported by fibrous hydrogels: they are present inside our cells (cytoskeleton) and between them (extracellular matrix). Synthetic gels, typically have very different properties than gels of biological materials, such as actin, fibrin and collagen, and, therefore are often unsuited for biomedical applications.
In the Molecular Materials group, we develop synthetic materials that do behave like biological hydrogels. The research in our group follows two lines: gel design, e.g. a gel that becomes 10-fold stiffer by heating 1 °C and biological application of the gel, for instance as an advanced cell culture medium or even for medical applications.
For internships, we host students from Chemistry and Science (most often in gel design, analysis and modelling) as well as students from Molecular Life Sciences and Medical Biology (for biomedical studies and cell biology).
CURRENTLY, WE ARE LOOKING FOR STUDENTS FOR CELL CULTURE APPLICATIONS. Interested, shoot us an email: p.kouwer@science.ru.nl
Molecular machines and motors in metal-based catalysis
Inspired by the complex working mechanisms of natural enzymes and biological motors and machines, our group develops supramolecular systems that can act as catalysts to convert (polymeric) substrates into desired products
with a high level of control.
In particular, we aim at developing a new technology to write, store, and
read information onto molecules, i.e. on single polymer chains, with the help of molecular machines that are inspired by the Turing
machine, hypothetical device proposed by the British mathematician Alan Turing in 1936 as
the general basis for the operation of a computer.
Data storage on polymer chains is highly relevant nowadays as it may
help solve the problem of handling the exponential growth of information
that is currently trafficking the internet.
Moreover, molecular data storage is expected to cost orders of magnitude less energy than conventional data storage in large data centers, making it a sustainable research target.
The group is working on the encoding of digital information into single polymer molecules in the form of chemical groups, such as (R,R)- and (S,S)-epoxides or (R)- and (S)-sulfoxides, which represent the digits 0 and 1. These are imprinted with the help of light-switchable catalytic machines that threads onto a polymer chain containing alkene double bonds or aryl sulfides. While moving along the chain the catalytic machines (ep)oxidize these functional groups (Figure). The enantioselectivity of the oxidation reactions is controlled by metal-containing catalysts of which the chirality can be switched by an attached Feringa-type molecular motor.
The research involves the synthesis of chiral cage compounds, light-switchable metal-containing catalysts and polymers, and the study of their properties with various techniques (NMR, IR, circular dichroism, UV-vis, fluorescence), threading experiments, and catalysis experiments, all focused on the writing of information.
Our group combines and integrates mass spectrometry with IR spectroscopy, enabling us to obtain infrared spectral fingerprints for mass-selected ions inside the mass spectrometer. We apply infrared ion spectroscopy in various analytical challenges of identifying molecular structures of low-abundance compounds within complex mixtures, e.g. in biomarker discovery for inborn errors of metabolism. In more fundamental studies, we investigate molecular spectra and structures of ionized molecules, e.g. to pin down the molecular structure of product ions in tandem mass spectrometry or to obtain laboratory IR spectra for molecular ions that are suspected to occur in astrophysical environments.
Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in medicine and poses a threat to global human health. To better understand the molecular processes underlying resistance and ultimately find a solution to this problem we synthesize and apply small molecule tools. We use multistep organic synthesis to develop fluorogenic substrates for key enzymes involved in the emergence of resistance and apply them to live cells to unravel the molecular mechanisms that lead up to resistance. Furthermore, we have a special interest in the roles of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) in the development of antibiotic resistance. We synthesize potential antibiotic molecules that target these nucleic acids in bacteria. Ultimately, we use our findings to device new molecular strategies to combat the antibiotic crisis.
The ultimate aim of our research is to understand how life works and where it comes from. Research in our group is multidisciplinary and exploits microfluidic tools to create synthetic cells or to quantify gene expression product in single cells. We have a strong interest in complex molecular systems and study how networks of chemical reactions create functional behavior like oscillations, switches or amplifiers. In effect, we try and construct molecular computers. We now try to identify how minimal complex systems can arise from mixtures of coupled reactions, and, ultimately, how life arose out of chemical reaction networks of increasing complexity.
Cooking, Looking & Tweezing Small Things
Are you excited about research at the interface of materials, chemistry, biology and medicine? We are a multidisciplinary and international group with diverse scientific and clinical backgrounds. We strive to:
Interested to learn more about current projects? Shoot us an email at mani.diba@radboudumc.nl
The research theme of the Solid State Chemistry department is fundamentals of crystal growth & design of crystals. You can find crystals in all kinds of products and applications and in all kinds of shapes and sizes ranging from nm to m. To mention a few applications: semiconductors like Si and GaN in chips and LEDs, fat crystals in food, organic molecules and salt crystals in pharmaceuticals.
Besides in products crystals and crystallization is often used as a purification method, even for chiral resolution. In all these applications it is essential to control the shape and size of the crystals. For that a thorough understanding of the mechanisms underlying crystal growth is essential. That is where the fundamentals of crystal growth and crystal design meet. Fundamental topics are: which processes occur, what is the structure of the solid-liquid interface, what determines the shape of a crystal and how to control it.
Methods we use are theory of crystal growth, computer simulations and modelling. In experimental crystal growth studies we use (in situ and ex situ) optical microscopy, atomic-force microscopy (AFM), electron microscopy,(surface) X-ray diffraction, DSC, TGA, …
If you are interested in the running projects for a Bachelor or Master internship, please contact Hugo Meekes ( h.meekes@science.ru.nl ) or Elias Vlieg ( e.vlieg@science.ru.nl ) so we can discuss which topics meet your interest.
The Roithová group is studying and designing metal complexes to mediate efficient chemical transformations. We seek inspiration from enzymes that can make reactions selective and can use abundant reactants such as oxygen or CO2. By researching working principles of enzyme-inspired catalysts and by coupling these catalysts with photochemistry and electrochemistry we aim to develop more efficient chemical transformations and thereby to contribute to reducing the environmental impact of chemistry in the future.
In nature, countless complex structures are known, and mimicking these structures can be a challenging task. How do you design a nano- or micro-system from the bottom up? Our goal is to design functional supramolecular structures and apply them to advance the field of nanomedicine.
Our group finds their inspiration in natural materials and processes. It is our aim to develop functional polymers, peptide and protein-based hybrid materials with biological activity. By using a variety of synthetic techniques, such as controlled polymerization, peptide synthesis and protein engineering methods. We furthermore mimic natural biological processes by compartmentalization and assembly of biocatalysts in polymeric capsules (polymersomes) for the design of synthetic mobile systems.
In the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry group, we try to explain and predict the properties of
molecules, clusters, and solids. We do this with quantum mechanical,
semiclassical, classical, and statistical mechanical methods. Our approach is
computational; we develop new methods and software when necessary and work closely with experimental groups. Research questions arise from
for instance astrochemistry and atmospheric chemistry, catalysis, and spectroscopy. We also study quantum phenomena in
ultracold molecular collisions and materials for sustainability (battery materials, heat storage, photovoltaics).
How do the most fundamental chemical interactions, such as making and breaking of bonds, happen? And how do small structural changes affect these elementary processes? In the ultrafast chemical dynamics group we use state-of-the-art ultrafast laser sources, combined with molecular control techniques and velocity-map imaging to answer these questions. Our approach allows us to follow reactions on the ultrafast femtosecond timescales at which they happen and “observe chemistry live”. This research sits right in between chemistry and physics, we develop unique and novel tools to control and observe single molecules in the gas-phase and then apply these to study problems of interest to the wider (bio)chemistry community.
