Last year, the MESA+ Institute of the University of Twente established the Molecules Centre. This Centre of Expertise focuses on science and technology from a molecular perspective. Together with three relatively new UT researchers as theme leaders, the Centre aims to connect all UT scientists with a molecular perspective, encourage collaboration and put UT’s molecular research on the map.
The Centre’s research is divided into five themes: Sensing Molecules & Healthy Living (Lead PI: Jurriaan Huskens), Functional Molecules & Smart Materials (Lead PI: Saskia Lindhoud), Green Molecules & Sustainability (Lead PI: Frederik Wurm), Biological Molecules & Networks (Lead PI: Julieta Paez), Computing Molecules & (Opto)Electronics (Lead PI: Christian Nijhuis). The three latter theme leaders tell their story and spotlight their ideas.
Green Molecules & Sustainability
Many synthetic materials result in waste, for example, polymer packaging, toxic chemicals but also more sophisticated devices. Biological molecules, on the other hand, are designed to function and break down after their lifetime. “Nature shows us perfect circularity; my aim is to design molecules inspired by those natural processes”, says lead PI, Frederik Wurm.
Prof Dr Frederik Wurm was appointed full professor at the UT in August 2020. He is currently leading the group Sustainable Polymer Chemistry (SPC; Faculty of S&T). The group designs materials with molecular defined functions for degradable polymers and nanocarriers, agricultural or biomedical applications and especially phosphorus-based polymers. “We have many polymer groups at the UT. Some of them are in the biomedical field and some are in the field of material science. Both types of groups can learn from and inspire each other”, says Wurm.
“In the future, we want to move away from petroleum-based compounds. This is easier said than done. Of course, some products might be too sophisticated to replace rapidly. However, we can make enormous steps by replacing products like nanocarriers, coatings, implants and polymer packaging. After all, a simple product like a plastic bag should be a lot easier to make biobased than complex compounds.”
Biological Molecules & Networks
In the research theme Biological Molecules & Networks, lead PI Julieta Paez also tries to get inspiration from nature. “We are designing smart molecular materials and researching their interaction with living cells”, says Paez. “Native tissues are complex systems and we are just starting to understand how the cells sense and respond to their surroundings.”
Since April 2021, Dr Julieta Paez is an assistant professor at the Developmental Bioengineering department (DBE; Faculty of S&T). Their mission is to translate the principles of developmental biology into new, technology-based therapeutic strategies for the replacement of lost or worn out tissues in chronic diseases. “We design soft biomaterials that come into contact with living cells and tissues”, explains Paez.
“To develop applications for specific healthcare scenarios like self-healing tissue adhesives, soft printed implants and advanced cell culture models, we still have to investigate the interaction between such networks (called hydrogels) and living systems, to learn how to preprogramme materials functions. Collaboration with other colleagues at the Molecules Centre will help us to achieve our research goals.”
Computing Molecules & (Opto)Electronics
We are reaching the limits of how small we can make electronic devices. Transistors are already on the nanoscale. Within the theme Computing Molecules & (Opto)Electronics, lead PI Christian Nijhuis aims to explore and exploit the dynamical nature of molecules to develop new electronics that function as the brain to meet the demand of upcoming technologies. “New adaptable molecules that can be reconfigured in response to changes in the environment are needed to make the future of computing faster at a lower energy cost.”
In 2020, Prof Dr Christian Nijhuis joined the UT as a Full Professor of the group Hybrid Materials for Opto-Electronics (HMOE; Faculty of S&T). The group aims to develop molecules that can be integrated with the current day and future technologies. “We want to add to instead of replace current electronics. By designing new molecules that are complementary to the current day technologies we can drastically lower energy usage”, explains Nijhuis.
“At MESA+ we bring together mathematicians and engineers that develop the circuits and programming with chemists that can create the molecules. With the facilities like the cleanroom and the Nanolab we have the ability to develop and produce molecular components and engineer the electronics of the future.”
More information
The Molecules Centre is a centre of expertise supported by the MESA+ Institute of the University of Twente. It was established in November 2021 and combines science and technology from a molecular perspective. This perspective helps to create dynamic systems and materials to address both important fundamental science questions in complex and dynamic/living systems and in applied science to find solutions for energy, healthcare and sustainable chemistry.
