Emergent behavior of weakly multivalent nanoparticles
The PhD defence of Erik Hamming will take place (partly) online and can be followed by a live stream.
Erik Hamming is a PhD student in the research group Molecular Nanofabrication (MN). Supervisor is prof.dr.ir. J. Huskens from the Faculty of Science & Technology (S&T).
Nothing exists in a vacuum. Studying individual interactions and reactions is a fundamental part of synthetic and supramolecular chemistry, but many distinct interactions and processes occurring simultaneously within a single system is a key trope of biology. Interfacing synthetic systems with biology - from prostheses to medicine - requires therefore an understanding of how single interactions combine and compete to form a complex system. This thesis discusses how ostensibly simple interactions between particles and surfaces, when combined, are capable of creating complex systems with a rich and dynamic behavior. This behavior is not trivially deduced from the properties of the individual interaction motif, the particle and/or the surface, but it is based on them; we therefore call it emergent behavior.
Weakly multivalent nanoparticles make a convenient model system to investigate the mechanisms of how complex behavior emerges from simple parameters such as interaction strength and number. The ability for a particle to bind a surface with multiple, individually weak interactions forms the basis of a wealth of behaviors not observed in systems bound with a single, strong interaction. This thesis discusses these behaviors, their source, their mechanism, and their applications, and contributes to an ongoing effort in understanding weakly multivalent systems from a theoretical perspective, but also uses the limited theory that is available to study the emergent behavior of weakly multivalent nanoparticles.
