Bert Meijer Lab
Research
Through the years, the science of the Meijer group focuses more and more on supramolecular systems and how individual molecules can influence the properties of the assembly of multi-component systems. Today, the main focus is on the non-covalent synthesis of complex molecular systems. The "engineering of adaptive complex molecular systems" is regarded by the group as one of the major challenges for chemists. Undergraduate research summary I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to perform hands-on research and work with inspiring researchers during my undergrad period. Being part of the first year the CISEI (Cooperative International Sience and Engineering Internships) program enabled me to spend 2 months in the laboratory of prof. Craig J. Hawker at UC Santa Barbara, working on the synthesis, characterization and self-assembly of block co-polymers. My second international research experience was in the lab of prof. David A. Tirrell, at Caltech. Under his guidance I learned the art of protein engineering and DNA manipulation, to produce elastin-like artifical extracellular matrix materials. The wonders and challenges of bioengineering opened doors learn to a whole array of new analysis techniques and material properties. |
Research Summary and Highlights
My graduate research covers the broad spectrum from synthetic organic chemistry, via physical chemistry, modeling and material characterization to cell biology and in vivo material applications.
Supramolecular polymer self-assembly serves as the red line throughout the projects, being synthetic polymers, or biopolymers (eg peptides). Ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) functionalized polymers and complementary guest molecules were developed to obtain dynamic, adaptive and instructive biomaterials. The self-assembly processes of my building blocks were explored from the molecular to the macroscopic level. Guest-host interactions were studied using microfluidics, and bioactive hydrogels are assembled in a modular fashion. The formation of an adaptive tailor-made 3D gel matrix by self-healing for tissue engineering of the intestine was demonstrated. Catheter injection of a growth-factor loaded hydrogel was achieved through sol-gel pH-switching behavior of the system. Understanding the molecular behavior of self-assembling systems is in my opinion crucial to understanding of their macroscopic behavior and downstream potential applications. Know what you work with, before you use it! First publication in new journal "Chemical Science" http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2010/SC/C0SC00108B Media coverage: http://youtu.be/Al6n2TKrkFw http://www.wetenschap24.nl/nieuws/artikelen/2010/maart/Primeur-voor-Eindhovense-chemici.html |
2009 Lindau Nobel Laureate MeetingNature Video on Nobel Reactions
Interview with Peter Agre. http://www.nature.com/lindau/2009/index.html |
Prizes and AwardsTU/e 2013 Academic Award for best PhD thesis in 2012
Lecturer award at the 2011 Dutch Organization of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering annual meeting. 1st Poster prize at the Advanced Functional Polymers for Medicine meeting 2011. NWO Toptalent PhD grant (2008-2012) on "From phage display to dendrimer display". (Dutch Science Foundation) http://web.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang51/cursor01/onderzoek/onderzoek.php?page=o1 http://www.jopinie.nl/38_c2w12_mensen_bastings.pdf |