Utilizing the polymeric platform of polypept(o)ides, this thesis describes synthesis and investigation of novel triblock copolymers to obtain carrier systems with multiple compartments for efficient siRNA delivery. Although the individual microstructure of nanoparticles differs depending on the polymeric…

PhD defence

Alexander Kros studies supramolecular systems in a biological environment. The unifying theme between the projects in my lab is specific molecular recognition, i.e. the intermolecular interaction between complementary molecules with high affinity and selectivity. Studying, imitating and dissecting processes…

Research lines within the Pharmacy group:

Key publications of the Biomedical Microscale Analytics group.

PUMA aims at composing a geological map of the urban mine of Amsterdam for a selection of metals. Where are main deposits of copper, iron and aluminium located, when will they become available for secondary production, in what state and shape are they?

Development of Natural Resource for New Medicines

Dr. at Max Planck Institute for chemical Ecology, Jena - Germany

The master’s specialisation BioTherapeutics at Leiden University is a two-year programme which trains students in research in specific drug delivery techniques. The programme also examines the development of new therapeutic approaches to treat immune-based disorders, such as atherosclerosis, metabolic…

Key publications of the Barz Lab

PhD defence

Development of micro-scale analytical tools to be used to address relevant biomedical questions in the field of neuroscience, and other application areas intrinsically dealing with small sample amounts.

We aim to unravel the complex and intertwining regulatory systems that control development and antibiotic production in streptomycetes.

How does the extracellular matrix coordinate endothelial cell behavior during angiogenesis, and how do metabolic waste-products and matrix-degrading enzymes produced by the tumour modify the extracellular matrix so as the change the cellular coordination?

Promotor: Prof.dr. R. Verpoorte, Co-promotores: Dr. Y.H.Choi, N.R. Mustafa

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…

An integrated approach of physiological concepts, advanced statistical approaches and large clinical datasets.

To increase clinical success rate of drugs, a better understanding of drug action mechanism and disease dynamics is required. Metabolomics, which studies small molecules involved in biochemical processes in organisms, has shown to be a useful tool for this better understanding.

Which compounds and microorganisms that live near and inside plant roots are beneficial? Can we use this knowledge to improve the health and growth of crop plants?

What are the differences between the trade in Chinese herbal drugs in Europe between 1800 and now? Can we see the major metabolic changes after 200 yours?

Formulation of biopharmaceuticals

Actinobacteria are Gram-positive bacteria that have a complex multicellular life cycle and are well known for their ability to produce a wide range of bioactive natural products (NPs).

Nanoparticles exhibit a number of adjustable properties, e.g., their size, shape, and surface and core chemistry, which can be further diversified with different functional moieties. This opens a broad field for application in diagnostic and therapy. In this respect, the use of a polymeric hybrid material,…

In the Catalysis and Surface Chemistry group, we investigate how catalysis works on the molecular level. The group is divided in six subgroups, focusing on different aspects of heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the deadliest common cancer, with only 8% of patients surviving for five years. One reason for this poor outcome is that current chemotherapy treatments are highly toxic, often leaving patients too sick to receive treatment or forcing doctors to lower the dose…

Our research is aimed at a smoother and speedier transition from preclinical research to pharmacological interventions, and the delivery of drugs in the human body by use of small molecules and biologics.

GRIPonMASH will address the unmet public health need of reducing disease burden and comorbidities associated with Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD).

Promotor: C.A.J. Knibbe, Co-promotores: H.P.A. van Dongen, B. van Ramshorst

Mechanobiology is a major area in biology, however, mechanics is currently a missing element in drug development pipelines. This has led to a high cost for the society. Mechanotoxicity of drugs often appears as a long-term side effect of drugs, and has led to removal of drugs from the market. Furthermore,…

The major and ultimate aim of metabolomics is to obtain an answer to a specific biological or clinical question.

Is it possible to synthesize industrially relevant compounds in a sustainable manner through the use of light-capturing cyanobacteria?

The company Azafaros was established in 2018 to translate innovative science from Leiden University and Amsterdam University Medical Center into novel disease-modifying treatment modalities for rare genetic metabolic disorders such as lysosomal storage diseases.

Developing a clinical decision support tool that will make it easier for clinicians to personalise the treatment for patients with high blood pressure. The team is using AI, deep learning methods and patient cohort data from 11 European countries.

Our group is part of the Metabolomics and Analytics Centre where we accompany the data from its acquisition all the way to the publication of identified associations and biomarkers for a range of human diseases. The generated data of the metabolic measurements are assessed using an in-house quality…

On this page the programme and sessions can be found. Keynote speakers will be announced soon.

PhD defence

In this thesis, we consider various (electro)chemical phenomena at surfaces and nanoparticles and their underlying atomistic processes, which we studied using first-principles methods such as density functional theory.

Promotor: M.A.G.J. Orrit

Aluminium-based adjuvants, such as aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate, are well-known for their immune-stimulating properties.

Individual molecules are extremely hard to see through feeble fluorescence. Tiny gold nanorods serve as new antennas to intensify their signal 500 times. Publication on 24 February in Angewandte Chemie.

The Biomedical Microscale Analytics group is led by Dr. Rawi Ramautar. In present-day metabolomics, and bioanalysis in general, the analytical toolbox used encounters difficulties for the analysis of limited amounts of biological samples. As a result, a significant number of crucial biomedical/clinical…

PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Golm – Germany

This thesis focuses on the development of sample-preparation methods for small amounts of samples and applying the developed methods to muscle tissues to investigate the mechanisms involved in sarcopenia.

For more information regarding ongoing research projects, please contact Prof. Miranda van Eck.

Dr. in Biomedical NMR spectroscopy, LUMC, Leiden - The Netherlands

Lecture