We use DNA strands to stabilize few-atom silver clusters, which show unique optical and chemical properties. This thesis involves the study of these constructs for various applications.

Because thin systems can deform along the thickness with relative ease, the interplay between surface mechanics and geometry plays a fundamental role in sculpting their three-dimensional shape.

Drug-target binding kinetics determine the time course of the central event in pharmacotherapy: Drug-target interaction.

This dissertation aims to advance understanding of amoeboid single cell migration under the influence of changing physicochemical environmental properties. The particular focus is on the relatively unknown influence of differing physical properties in the extracellular environment, such as the migratory…

In the traditional theory of linear elasticity, superposition dictates that the response of a material does not depend on the sequence of the applied mechanical actuations.

Detecting nanoscopic objects plays an important role in nanoscience in particular, in the rapidly growing field of nanobiology. The forebear to modern super-resolution microscopy for single molecule investigation, is fluorescence microscopy.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.J.J. Groenen, Co-Promotor: M. Huber

Metabolomics is a powerful tool that can provide a comprehensive insight into the complexity of human biology and the pathophysiology of diseases. By analyzing the metabolome, which refers to the complete set of small (endogenous) molecules (with a mass <1500 Da) present within a given biological system,…

Carbohydrates, alongside proteins and nucleic acids, constitute a crucial and versatile family of biomolecules present in all life forms. They manifest as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides, covalently bonded to proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are integral to plant and arthropod…

Na het afronden van de bacheloropleiding volgen verreweg de meeste studenten de masteropleiding.

Promotor: M.A.G.J. Orrit

This thesis tackles the urgent challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the design of novel antibacterial agents.

Als je een elastiekje uitrekt, wordt het langer. Maar stel je eens voor dat een materiaal juist korter wordt als je eraan trekt. Dat klinkt raar, niet? Toch is dat precies wat natuurkundigen van de Universiteit Leiden, AMOLF en ARCNL voor elkaar hebben gekregen.

Waterdruppels zweven in een hete pan vanwege het zogenoemde Leidenfrost-effect. Nu hebben natuurkundigen een variatie ontdekt: het Elastische Leidenfrost-effect. Het verklaart waarom hydrogel balletjes op een hete plaat rondspringen en hoge piepgeluidjes maken. Publicatie in Nature Physics op 24 jul…

Hoe complexer het voorwerp, des te ingewikkelder het is om op te vouwen. Een ruimtevaartuig heeft al snel vele motortjes nodig om een instrument-arm in elkaar te vouwen en mensen hebben zelfs moeite met een wegenkaart. Natuurkundigen uit Leiden en Amsterdam hebben nu een structuur ontworpen die zichzelf…

Decentralized plug and play systems for energy production are the future picture of our society. Artificial photosynthetic systems are used for this purpose.

This thesis is a collection of experimental attempts to enhance photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules and quantum dots with single gold nanorods (GNRs) and relevant applications.

DNA carries various forms of information. Out of these forms of information the most well-known is classical genetic information.

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…

The progressive loss and degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is a major pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). The onset and progression of PD can be triggered by multiple risk factors, for instance, genetic mutation, environmental exposure, and aging.

Ferritin is a spherical metalloprotein, capable of storing and releasing iron in a controllable way. It is composed of a protein shell of about 12 nm and within its cavity, iron is stored in a mineral form.

Mechanical metamaterials are carefully engineered materials whose properties are controlled by their structure, not by their composition, which allows using metamaterials to study and control physical effects in detail⁠.

This thesis describes the development and optimization of the first molecular tools to study the enzyme PLA2G4E.

In this thesis, I focused on studying the above- and belowground interactions of J. vulgaris from a plant-soil feedback (hereafter, PSF) perspective. I investigated the temporal variation of negative PSF and examined the effects of root-associated bacteria on plant performance and aboveground herbiv…

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

Plant exudates appeared long time ago in the history line of life in the early Devonian. They are typical saps produced by specialized cells.

Inactivating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes predispose to several types of cancer.

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: J.D.C. Codée

This dissertation combines the use of defined microenvironments, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and time-resolved analysis, to study intracellular and cellular motility.

Drug development is a time- and resource-consuming process that starts with the discovery and validation of a (protein) target that contributes to pathogenesis or disease progression.

Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances.

The research described in this thesis focused on the use of bioorthogonal antigens to investigate immunological processes in antigen presenting cells. Bioorthogonal antigens are antigenic proteins produced through recombinant expression in a methionine auxotrophic E. coli strain.

This thesis investigated miniaturized mass spectrometry (MS)-based analytical methods to address challenges in analyzing biomass-restricted biological samples.

Traditional drug discovery approaches have been hampered by (in vitro) cell-culture models that poorly represent the situation in the human body.

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.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel, M. van Heel

Promotor: T. Hankemeier, Co-promotor: T.H. Reijmers

The ability to count is a property not often attributed to materials, despite the abundance of memory in materials. Regardless of how a material stores information, it is often difficult to retrieve exactly ‘what’ a material remembers.

Despite being the object of intense study, embryonic development has been difficult to model due to a number of reasons. First, complex tissues can be comprised of many cell types, of which we probably only know a subset.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.W. Canters, Prof.dr. T.J. Aartsma

Nieuw onderzoek van de National University of Singapore en Leiden laat zien dat chimpansees en bonobo’s net zoveel contrast in hun ogen hebben als mensen, waardoor ze gemakkelijk de richting van iemands blik kunnen volgen.

Freshwater is an important resource, but at a great risk of species decline due to habitat loss, pollution and over-exploitation, and invasive alien species.

Promotor: J.P. Abrahams, Co-promotor: T. Grüne

All life on earth contains DNA, which is used to store biological information. Organisms compact their DNA in order for it to fit inside their cell(s).

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

We have studied the impact of particle shape anisotropy, multivalent interactions and flexibility on systems of micron-sized colloidal particles.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a small subtype (~15%) of breast cancer, but causes the majority of breast cancer-related deaths.

Electron microscopy has become an extremely important techniquein a wide variety of elds.