Curved single crystals provide variable, but well-defined surface structures.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major health threat. Addressing this challenge requires among others the development of new antibacterial compounds. The research described in this thesis focuses on discovering novel antibiotics from soil bacteria, specifically Streptomyces and Paenibacillus.Despite…

Cathodic corrosion is a relatively unknown phenomenon that can severely etch metallic electrodes at cathodic (negative) potentials.

Promotor: A. Kros

Membrane fusion is a vital process in living organisms and is mediated by zipper-like proteins.

Na het afronden van de bacheloropleiding volgen verreweg de meeste studenten de masteropleiding. De Universiteit Leiden stimuleert studenten om na hun bacheloropleiding door te gaan met de masteropleiding.

Single-layer graphene (SLG) has attracted considerable interest as a proton exchange membrane for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), owing to its atomic thickness, mechanical robustness, and unique proton permeability.

In most applications, electrocatalysts exhibit a large surface area to volume ratio, for example using nanoparticles.

The role of the interfacial environment during electrochemical reactions has been increasingly valued, especially for those reactions involving protons or hydroxyl ions.

Glycosidases are essential in fundamental biological processes and are responsible for the degradation of most (oligo)saccharides, glycolipids and glycoproteins.

This thesis systematically analyzes the physical-chemistry of lipid-graphene interactions with the major objective of reconciliating the variety of results reported in the literature.

In this thesis I highlight the applications of Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing. This technique is a relatively new approach in the sequencing field, where nanopores are embedded in a membrane, DNA molecules are pulled through nanopores and an electrical current serving as the sequencing…

In this thesis unconventional tools based on fluidic interfaces were developed to study the surface and interfacial chemistry of graphene, to characterize the intrinsic properties of graphene, to disentangle the effects of substrate and of the environmental factors, and to improve handling protocols…

Cancer is considered the silent pandemic of the 21st century and the second leading cause of death worldwide.

The research presented in this thesis makes use of small molecules (as H2 , D2 and O2 ) on well-defined single crystal surfaces (flat Pt(111), flat Cu(211) and curved Pt(111)) to elucidate the role of surface structure and degrees of freedom in the reactant in specific surface reactions.

Naar schatting bestaat de wereldbevolking over twintig jaar uit ongeveer 8,7 miljard mensen, terwijl dat aantal nu 7,3 miljard is. Deze groei, gecombineerd met de bijbehorende groei in consumptie en de verbeteringen in levensstandaarden, zal resulteren in een enorme groei in de vraag naar voedsel, verbruiksgoederen,…

This thesis has shed light on some of the ways in which the local electrolyte composition can differ from the bulk and how these changes in the local reaction environment can determine the activity and/or selectivity of two important electrocatalytic reactions, namely, electrochemical CO2 reduction…

Several techniques are explored for going beyond the born-oppenheimer static surface model for molecule-surface reactions.

This thesis focuses on the application of lipid-based nanomedicine in drug delivery, including small molecular antitumor drugs and biomacromolecules including mRNA, and evaluates their biological performance.

The adsorption of D2 and CO2 on catalyst surfaces is studied using a molecular beam in ultra-high vacuum.

Viral diseases constitute one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Membrane-targeting have broad-spectrum potential and could distinguish viral membranes from the host cell plasma membrane by the difference in membrane curvature.

Deze tweejarige masteropleiding wordt aangeboden door het Leiden Institute of Chemistry en heeft een focus op technologische en fundamentele kennis en expertise. Tijdens de opleiding doe je onderzoek naar de processen van de levende cel met fundamenteel wetenschappelijke én toegepaste technologie. Je…

Climate change is a challenge for both current and future generations. New biological resources have to be developed in order to meet the demand for energy as well as the demand for food.

This dissertation presents a new perspective on the life, work and character of the Dutch physical chemist Jacobus Henricus van ’t Hoff, first recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and one of the most important and colourful scientists in Dutch history. The image of Van ’t Hoff that emerges from…

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.J. Kroes

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.S. Overkleeft

How can we bridge the gap between experts and the general public?

Synthetic hydrogels that mimic the natural extracellular matrix in the biophysical and biochemical cues it provides to cells are in high demand, however the cell phenotypes as they are observed in vivo in numerous cases have yet to be attained.

To this day, all cyclophellitol-based inhibitors and ABPs have been close analogues of their natural substrate counterparts. As a result, these probes showed high selectivity towards their target glycosidases.

In the search for sustainable energy solutions, the idea of artificial photosynthesis has been proposed as an approach with which to use water and sunlight to produce hydrogen.

The glycosylation reaction is a pivotal reaction in creating new and complex oligosaccharides.

M.T.M. Koper, Co-promotor: D.G.H. Hetterscheid

Sphingolipids are important membrane compounds with a variety of functions. In mammalian cells, different enzymes are involved in the metabolism of sphingolipids, but interruption of this metabolism process leads to different diseases.

The thesis explores how interstellar chemistry evolves as a function of time and changing physical architectures during the formation of stars.

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

This Thesis shows discoveries in non-linear astrochemical kinetics as well as a deeper analysis of dark clouds chemistry.

De overheid heeft baat bij de wetenschappelijke blik van promovendi, omdat de vraag naar ‘evidence based’ beleid groeit. Professor Sandra Groeneveld, verbonden aan het instituut Bestuurskunde, en haar promovendus Saniye Çelik, ambtenaar bij de Rijksoverheid, zijn hierover aan het woord in het magazine…

Onderzoekers vanuit verschillende vakgebieden werken samen om oplossingen te bedenken voor maatschappelijke problemen.

Promotors: Prof.dr. E. Bouwman, Prof.dr. E. Drent

Dissociative chemisorption is an important reaction step in many catalytic reactions.

The goal of this thesis is to understand how interfacial parameters, such as the addition of organic additives, bulk pH or metal cations of the electrolyte, affect the relevant electrocatalytic reactions, i.e. electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction or hydrogen evolution reaction.

This dissertation focused on computational methods based on first principles calculations using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) framework. Emphasis was laid on affordable methods that can provide a tradeoff between computational expense and accuracy.

Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is responsible for light absorption and excitation energy transfer in plants and photosynthetic algae, while in high light it undergoes conformational changes by which it quenches excitations to prevent photodamage.

Heterogeneous catalyzed processes are highly significant to the chemical industry. Dissociative chemisorption (DC) of molecules on surfaces is always considered as a step with a high degree of rate control for heterogeneous catalysis.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.J.M. de Groot, Co-promotor: Francesco Buda

Dit proefschrift beschrijft een collectie aan alternatieve strategieën voor het begrijpen, ontwerpen en toepassen van lipide nanosystemen, waarin de rol van de bio-nano interacties centraal staan. In het bijzonder wordt gekeken naar de interactie van RNA-lipide nanosystemen, bekend van de toepassing…

Voor de omzetting van zonlicht naar brandstof

This thesis focused on the exploration of monolayer graphene as a membrane in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications, with improvements achieved through plasma exposure or damage- free chemical functionalization.