Biophysical chemistry

Biophysical chemistry deals with biomacromolecules and their physical interactions. The inside and outside of living cells are full of biomolecules, from simple ones to sophisticated complex machineries, of which the collective interplay controls biological processes, such as cellular growth and differentiation. Our goal is to understand this interplay at the molecular level.

In living cells confinement, molecular crowding and heterogeneity of local environments play a major role in the action of biomolecules, e.g., by affecting macromolecular reaction rates and equilibriums. Using cell-free biochemistry together with mammalian single-cell imaging, we investigate the influence of cellular physiology on transcription and translation machinery, cell-to-cell variability, and ultimately cellular function.

Multivalency in biochemistry refers to the conversion of multiple monovalent interactions with low affinity into interactions with high avidity obtained by an accumulated effect. It is the key in achieving necessary affinity and obtaining the necessary response on biological surfaces. We aim to further understand and explore this mechanism in the development of multivalent aptamer technology in biomedical applications such as medical diagnostics, anti cancer treatment, immune therapy and cell development.

The Department of Biophysical Chemistry is embedded in the Institute for Molecules and Materials (IMM). Due to our mutual research interests we work closely together with the Huck group (Physical-Organic Chemistry).

• Transcription and translation in cytomimetic protocells perform most efficiently at distinct macromolecular crowding conditions. ACS Synth. Biol. 2020, 10, 2797-2807.
• A Post-Transcriptional Feedback Mechanism for Noise Suppression and Fate Stabilization. Cell 2018, 173, 1609-1621.
• Cytoplasmic Amplification of Transcriptional Noise Generates Substantial Cell-to-Cell Variability. Cell Syst. 2018, 7, 384-397.
• DNA-responsive polyisocyanopeptide hydrogels with stress-stiffening capacity. Adv. Funct. Mat. 2016, 26, 9075-82.
• Stable isotope labeling methods for DNA. Prog. Nucl. Magn. Reson. Spectrosc. 2016, 96, 89-108.
• Macromolecular crowding creates heterogeneous environments of gene expression in picolitre droplets. Nature nanotechnology 2016, 11, 191-7.