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Biomolecular NanoTechnology (BNT)
BIOMOLECULAR NANOTECHNOLOGY (BNT)
The BNT group (founded early 2009) aims at understanding some of the basic principles driving the formation of nano-sized objects and nano-structured materials that Nature has created in the course of evolution. The goal is to use biological principles as a guidance towards the design of self-assembled, multifunctional and responsive materials in which biomolecules or bio-inspired architectures are used as building blocks. Therefore we apply (macro)-molecular and supramolecular chemistry in combination with molecular biology approaches. For example, we employ protein building blocks to form nanometer-sized reactors and use the highly symmetric properties of these protein cages as scaffolds for functional materials. Techniques used in our laboratory range from synthetic chemistry and protein engineering to physical characterization using state-of-the-art facilities in the MESA+ constellation.
Our group pursues a broad range of research interests. Potential BSc or MSc projects can involve themes such as:
- Protein isolation, derivatization and assembly
- (Bio)-catalysis in nanometer confinement
- Hierarchical self-assembly of nanoparticles and other functional nano-objects
- Synthesis of novel molecular dopants for adaptive materials
Latest news
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Naar aanleiding van de ontwikkeling, door Rogers en medewerkers (Science, 337, pg. 1640, 2012), van elektronische chips gebaseerd op water-oplosbaar dragermateriaal, is Prof. Cornelissen van het Laboratorium voor Biomoleculaire Nanotechnology (MESA+) geinterviewd door de Volkskrant en het Radio1-programma Tros Nieuwsshow (zie link). ... read more |
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C2W, 25 januari 2013. |
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Nathalie Katsonis is contributing to the 2013 Emerging Investigators issue of Chemical Communications with a paper entitled “Time-programmed helix inversion in phototunable liquid crystals”, by Sarah-Jane Aßhoff, Supitchaya Iamsaard, Alessandro Bosco, Jeroen Cornelissen, Ben Feringa and Nathalie Katsonis. ... read more |
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Op dinsdag 8 en woensdag 9 januari waren de labs van het BNT/MnF cluster het decor van het BNN televisieprogramma ‘Proefkonijnen’. In dat programma proberen de presentatoren Dennis Storm en Valerio Zeno nuchtere antwoorden te vinden op bezopen vragen. We hebben met plezier een handje geholpen met het beantwoorden van enkele vragen en daarnaast ondervonden dat ook op het grensvlak van wetenschap en amusement nog leuke, nieuwe dingen te leren zijn. ... read more |
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Maarten Smulders wins first prize in poster competition at MASC2012 During the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Meeting, held last December at Queen Mary, University of London (UK), Maarten Smulders was awarded the first prize in the poster competition. ... read more |
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Nathalie Katsonis ontvangt de Professor De Winter-prijs 2012 De Professor De Winter-prijs, genoemd naar de in 2005 overleden hoogleraar, is een internationale publicatieprijs voor vrouwelijk toptalent. De prijs is bedoeld als erkenning voor excellent wetenschappelijk onderzoek en als stimulans voor het verder ontwikkelen van een wetenschappelijke loopbaan. ... read more |
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Aspasia premium for Nathalie Katsonis Nathalie Katsonis receives an Aspasia premium of 50 000 € to support her research on photo-engineered helices in chiral liquid crystals. ... read more |
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ERC STARTING GRANT FOR NATHALIE KATSONIS Nathalie Katsonis is awarded with a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for her project Phelix (Photo-engineered helices in chiral liquid crystals). The aim of this project is to develop sophisticated helical materials with responsive architectures that are of interest in optical communication, energy management, photonic materials and mechanical actuation. She will receive 1.5 million euros over a period of five years to develop her program and set up her research team. ... read more |
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Jeroen Cornelissen receives an IBM Faculty Award of $ 20k Jeroen Cornelissen receives an IBM Faculty Award of $ 20k |
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ROYAL SOCIETY GRANT FOR NATHALIE KATSONIS Nathalie Katsonis received an International Exchange Grant from the Royal Society ... read more |
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Jeroen Cornelissen is contributing to the 2012 Emerging Investigators issue of ChemComm with a paper entitled “Relative size selection of a conjugated polyelectrolyte in virus-like protein structures”, by Melanie Brasch and Jeroen Cornelissen. ... read more |
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Nathalie’s review on “Controlling chirality with helix inversion in cholesteric liquid crystals” is published online in the Journal of Materials Chemistry (http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/jm/c2jm15962g). Congratulations! ... read more |
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CHAINS 2011: KNCV Golden Medal Lecture Viruses are highly defined protein structures, that from a chemical point of view can be used as a platform for the controlled position of molecular entities with different functions at the nanoscopic level. This growing research field is referred to as Chemical Virology and, in particular, spherical viruses allow the integration of biological and synthetic building blocks in a well-defined manner ... read more |
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Relative size selection of a conjugated polyelectrolyte in virus-like protein structures A conjugated polyelectrolyte poly[(2-methoxy-5-propyloxy sulfonate)-phenyl-ene vinylene] (MPS-PPV) drives the assembly of virus capsid proteins to form single virus-like particles (VLPs) and aggregates with more than two VLPs, with a relative selection of high molecular weight polymer in the latter. ... read more |
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Sarah-Jane Asshoff wins poster award at Chains 2011 Sarah-Jane wins the poster award in the section Nanoscience at Chains 2011, the largest chemistry conference in the Netherlands. Her poster is entitled “Photocontrolling the helical twist in cholesteric liquid crystals”. Congratulations! ... read more |
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Nature paper by Tibor Kudernac and Nathalie Katsonis Congratulations to Tibor and Nathalie who co-authored a Nature paper on "Electrically driven directional motion of a four-wheeled molecule on a metal surface". This breakthrough results from a collaborative effort between the University of Groningen and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science. More information can be found on the website of Prof. Ben L. Feringa ... read more |
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Open dag UT: veel bezoekers bij stand BNT & MNF Tijdens de Open Dag van de Universiteit Twente op zaterdag, 17 september jl. hebben veel bezoekers de stands van BNT & MNF bezocht. De proefjes die uitgevoerd werden waren vooral gericht op kinderen van 4 tot 12 jaar. Zo konden ze haargel maken, suikerspinnen eten en proefjes uitvoeren met viltstiften en M&Ms. ... read more |
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Jeroen Cornelissen Winnaar Gouden KNCV-Medaille 2010 De winnaar van de KNCV Gouden Medaille 2010 is bekend. Bij de officiële opening van het Internationale Jaar van de Chemie 2011 op 28 januari heeftl Professor Jeroen Cornelissen deze prestigieuze medaille in ontvangst genomen. ... read more |
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De Rector Magnificus maakt bekend dat Prof.Dr. Jeroen Cornelissen benoemd door het College van |
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Nederlandse onderzoekers overwinnen laatste stap in nieuwe medicijntransporteur |
