Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a functional proteomics technique for directly monitoring the expression of active enzymes in cell extracts and living cells. The technique relies on irreversible inhibitors equipped with reactive groups (warheads) that covalently attach to the active site…

The growing demand of energy indicates that global energy resources in the form of fossil fuels will not be sufficient in the future. In order to solve potential future energy problems development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is highly desirable.

Due to their central physiological roles in living organisms, retaining beta-glycosidases have been the subject of tremendous research efforts to examine their structure/function relation using numerous biophysical and biochemical approaches.

This thesis describes the design and development of subunit‐selective inhibitors of particular catalytically active subunits of human constitutive proteasomes and immunoproteasomes.

Vitamin A or retinol is essential in embryonic development, the visual cycle and the immune system.

Leiden University research institutes based in Leiden and The Hague.

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.

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-promotor: M. van der Stelt

Antibiotic resistance, caused by widespread use of antibiotics, leads to bacterial infections that are difficult, if not impossible, to treat and is a major worldwide health concern.

This thesis describes the structural and biochemical characterization of the β-lactamase BlaC from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and the Alr and YlmE proteins from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).Mtb is the main cause of tuberculosis.

Marc Koper’s research focuses on electrocatalysis and electrochemical surface science for sustainable energy and chemistry. Reactions of interest are the redox reactions of the oxygen/hydrogen cycle (water oxidation, hydrogen evolution), the carbon cycle (reduction of carbon dioxide, oxidation of small…

This thesis is concerned with the constitution of chiral responsive matrix assemblies that may undergo light-driven conformational changes and self-select vibrations to develop vibronic states for driving semi-classical coherent transfer with nearly 100% yield in a lossless NCAP process.

Hydrocarbonylation of alkenes with carboxylic acids in synthesis of carboxylic acid anhydrides is relatively less explored. We herein present a study and optimization of a palladium-catalyzed hydrocarbonylation reaction of alkenes using carboxylic acids as the nucleophile, by which acid anhydrides can…

In the MSc Chemistry programme you will focus your studies on one of LIC's two main research areas, Chemistry for Health or Chemistry for Sustainability, and one specialisation.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.P. Abrahams, Prof.dr. M. van Heel

PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

In the current global context, there is a pressing need to address sustainable energy supplies to safeguard our Planet and its ecosystems. The choices made by human society have a significant impact on genetic evolution and climate.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of the Faculty of Sciences with one partner in Ukraine.

Microscopic insight on lipid-based nanomedicine in vivo remains limited to the perception of the knowledge that could be obtained: if we interpret only what we see, then we only believe to know. Although believing to know encapsulates an undefined amount of uncertainty in the exploration of lipid-based…

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

Advanced mass spectrometry of glycosphingolipids takes the central stage in this thesis. Investigations focus on characterization of glycosphingolipid metabolism in health and disease with emphasis to the detection and accurate quantitation of known and so far unknown glycosphingolipids and closely…

Every organisms in the tree of life faces the same challenge: the length of its DNA exceeds the volume of the cell it needs to fit in. Several strategies have evolved to solve this problem, one of them being the expression of proteins that bind and organize the DNA.

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

A monthly lecture series about early drug discovery research at Leiden University.

Catalysis is of extreme relevance in the production of everyday materials and plays a central role in many aspects of our life.

The research aims to explore the evolutionary adaptability of enzymes and the impact of temperature on protein evolution pathways, using M. tuberculosis β-lactamase BlaC as the object of study. Enzymes inherently embody a delicate balance between activity and stability, and the acquisition of new enzymatic…

Supramolecular polymers are class of materials that are formed by non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions, electrostatic interactions and the hydrophobic effect.

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endocannabinoid anandamide, represent an important family of signaling lipids in the brain. The lack of chemical probes that modulate NAE biosynthesis in living systems hamper the understanding of the biological role of these lipids.

The redox-conversion reaction of metal-disulfide and metal-thiolate complexes are important, as they may shed light on electron-transfer reactions that often occur in Nature.

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.

Advanced sensing techniques require graphene with high quality and well-controlled surface chemistry.

The studies presented in the work show the potential of the integrative use of biophysical data in defining the structural basis of protein interactions.

Enzymes are innately sensitive to changes in the amino acid sequence, which largely constrains their evolutionary potential, i.e., evolvability. This evolutionary burden can be alleviated in the presence of stabilizing mutations, which increase the buffering capacity of enzymes to tolerate mutations…

This dissertation presents the synthesis and evaluation of antibody recognition for various capsular polysaccharide (CP) fragments of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most pressing challenges that humanity faces in the coming decades.

A key step in the synthesis of oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates is the formation of the glycosidic bond.

Kinase inhibitors are key therapeutic agents, particularly in oncology, yet their clinical efficacy is often hampered by off-target effects and limited understanding of their cellular target profiles.

In this thesis, we study different curved single crystals because of the diversity of surface structures across their curvature.

This dissertation explores new chemical strategies for the synthesis of self-adjuvanting peptide conjugates and immunomodulatory ligands aimed at targeted activation of the immune system.

Green hydrogen is produced via a process called water electrolysis. During electrolysis water is split into oxygen and hydrogen.

Promotor: A. Kros

This work describes the use of click-to-release chemistry to get spatiotemporal control over immunocytokine activity. Until now, immunocytokines (cytokines coupled to a tumor-targeting-moiety) remained active throughout the body, being able to bind their respective receptors, causing mild to severe…

Promotor: M. Ubbink, Co-promotor: G. Siegal

Overkleeft

Glycoside hydrolases (glycosidases/GHs) are widely abundant enzymes in all kingdoms of life and are important biocatalysts that catalyze the hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages in oligo/polysaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids with tremendous efficiency

Promotor: A. Kros

This thesis focuses on developing wafer-scale two-dimensional (2D) materials by combining synthesis, transfer, characterization, and device integration of graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and BN-doped amorphous carbon.

This thesis investigates reactive interfaces in surface science across three domains: heterogeneous catalysis, environmental nanoplastics, and two-dimensional materials.

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.