The Physical Organic Chemistry research group (part of Institute for Molecules and Materials) is broadly interest in understanding the physical and (bio)chemical properties of complex molecular systems.
Physical Organic Chemistry
Department
Research
The research conducted in the Physical Organic Chemistry group is divided into four different groups.
Huck group
“Life. What is it? How does it work? Where could it possibly come from?” These are the key questions we aim to address, with the ultimate goal of constructing life from the bottom up. While we can usually recognise life, defining it precisely is challenging. Understanding how living systems work and how life can emerge from non-life are among the greatest scientific challenges of our time.
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Spruijt group
We aim to create artificial organelles that can be used as functional compartments in synthetic cells or as model systems to elucidate the role of coacervates in cells and in the origin of life. We are currently investigating various (bio)chemical reactions to create, shape and grow these organelles in a dynamic way. In parallel, we use the compartments to direct reactions and regulate biological assembly processes.
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Robinson group
The Robinson Group works at the interface of chemistry and machine learning. We aim to understand the chemical world around us by collecting, mining and modelling complex data.
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Korevaar group
Synthetic materials today are typically inactive and serve only one function. In contrast, living materials sense their environment, adapt to changes, and reorganise to perform multiple tasks. This behaviour is programmed at the molecular level. In our lab, we aim to integrate this life-like behaviour into synthetic materials so they can perform complex operations like motion, growth, or shape transformation in response to their environment, paving the way for a new generation of intelligent matter.
Read more about the Korevaar Life-Like Materials lab
Velema group
The goal of our laboratory is to harness chemistry to offer solutions for contemporary biomedical problems. We are particularly interested in nucleic acids and their role in antibacterial drug resistance. Our team consists of chemists, biologists and bioinformaticians that work together towards deciphering the molecular mechanisms involved in disease progression to ultimately help develop the next generation of antibacterials.
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Mabesoone group
Nature evolved highly complex materials over billions of years of evolution. Designing biobased materials with similar properties is a challenging task. We combine high-throughput experimentation and machine learning for data-driven design and engineering soft materials.
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Contact information
Postal address
Postbus 90106500GL NIJMEGEN