Previous experiences:
For my graduation internship I joined the BOC group where I worked in the MAIT section on a project together with Florian Mayer. The idea of the project was to provide lanthanide based nanoparticles with an organic outer shell to for conjugation with different molecules on the surface of these nanoparticles. By using fluorescent molecules for the outer shell, the amount of molecules on the surface could be quantified. I really enjoyed my stay; the people in the group are all really nice and helpful. But most importantly you can choose your own path to the goal of the project, whatever you think of, you can try it and if it works it works. There are no predetermined routes you need to take. This makes your mind really hard and that is fun and challenge at the same time. This was also the reason why I came back after my graduation to continue working on the project for another month. It was an awesome time :)
Patrick van der Est (Bsc) |
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I did my final internship for my HBO Chemie at the BOC group. There I helped Florian Mayer with his research on holmium-based nanoparticles. It was my goal to synthesize a various fluorescent molecules, which were then used for the quantification of the amount of binding sites on the nanoparticles. Working at the BOC was very nice, I had my own lab, the people were very friendly and I had great support from my supervisors Florian and Kristina.
Ruben Goverde (BSc) |
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Student projects
Open positions
Throughout the year there are undergraduate projects (bachelor-, master projects) available in our group.
Enthausiastic and outstanding bachelor and master students from dutch universities or "hoge scholen" are warmly invited to apply at any time.
The topics are centered on our research interest covering:
Photobiocatalytic redox reactions
(contact: Dr. Frank Hollmann)
In this theme, we aim at combining photocatalysis with biocatalysis.
Hence, (sun)light is used as driving force to promote highly specific enzymatic reduction and oxidation reactions.
Enzymatic C-C-bond formation
(contact: Prof. dr. Ulf Hanefeld)
C-C bond construction is the key to building up larger carbon frameworks and molecules.
In Delft we focus on hydroxynitrile lyases and similar enzymes for these reactions.
With these enzymes a plethora of interesting building blocks can be constructed.
This technology is applied in the conversion of renewable materials, such as cellulose derivatives and pharmaceuticals.
Turning an enzyme into a biocatalyst
(contact: Dr. Linda Otten and prof. dr. Isabel Arends)
Microbiologists have discovered a wealth of enzymes, which are the catalysts of nature. In our projects we want to evolute these catalysts in even better catalysts for specific chemical reactions, such as the hydration of renewable materials such as lipids. This leads to biocatalytic methods for the production of high-perfomance additives, i.e. for the cosmetic industry. Alternatively polymer precursors can be made. In a typical project, we isolate and produce these enzymes through recombinant expression. In a next step, libraries of mutants of these enzymes are made, and tested for the target reaction.
Multimodal Agents for Imaging and Therapy
(contact: dr. K. Djanashvili)
The research in medical diagnosis is currently focusing on multimodal imaging, which basically means exploiting the complementary information provided by different modalities.
For example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has a very high resolution but low intrinsic sensitivity, which limits the detection of molecular biomarkers of certain diseases.
In contrast, nuclear imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET), are highly sensitive but have very poor resolution.
In the current practice, both diagnoses are performed independently. However, combination of multimodal detectability in the same probe can be very advantageous since it ensures the same pharmacokinetic and co-localization of signal. Nanoparticulate systems are extremely interesting in this respect.
For more information of the Multimodal Agents for Imaging and Therapy group please take a look at their website here.
Projects that are currently available in the group of Biocatalysis and Organic Chemistry represent a multidisciplinary and creative study on design, preparation and optimization of such probes. Organic synthetic skills as well as affinity to physical and medicinal chemistry are required. For further information, please contact Prof. Isabel W.C.E. Arends or the group leaders directly.
