Synthetic microswimmers take an important place within the interdisciplinary field of active soft matter.

While colloidal aggregates are often undesirable due to their random shapes, we exploit them as a starting point to synthesize patchy particles.

The lipid membrane is a basic structural component of all living cells. Embedded in this nanometer-thin barrier, membrane proteins shape the membrane and at the same time respond to the shape of the membrane.

Kros

This PhD-thesis presents a study on micron-sized particles, so-called colloids. By controlling the chemical and physical properties of these particles, such as the interparticle interaction and the particles’ shape, colloids can act as building blocks that self-assembly into larger structures.

The miniaturization of machines towards the micron and nanoscale requires the development of joint-like elements that enable and constrain motion. We developed a facile method to create colloidal joints, that is, anisotropic colloidal particles functionalized with surface mobile DNA linkers that control…

We have studied the impact of particle shape anisotropy, multivalent interactions and flexibility on systems of micron-sized colloidal particles.

Research in the Daniela Kraft Lab focuses on self-assembly in biological and soft matter systems, ranging from anisotropic colloidal particles to lipid membranes, emulsions, and viruses.

PhD defence

Brownian motion is the random motion of (colloidal) particles due to collisions with the atoms and molecules of the solvents, which are moving due to temperature.

Western thought has often dismissed shadows as fictional, but what if fictions reveal original truths?

PhD defence

Like a mixture of oil and water, lipid membranes separate into two liquid phases.

Tiny self-propelling spheres, measuring only micrometers, move faster over a hydrophobic silicone surface than they do over hydrophilic glass. 'Almost nobody had realised that the substrate matters', says Stefania Ketzetzi, the researcher who discovered the effect, researched it and explained it. She…

We study the physics of a broad range of biological and soft materials

We investigate emergent structures and dynamics of soft materials self-assembled from microscopic constituents.

Promotor: D. Bouwmeester, Co-promotor: D. Kraft

The focus of our theoretical research is understanding the behaviour of soft condensed matter, physical matter which is deformed or structurally altered by thermal fluctuations or small stresses.

The external tissues of plants and animals are colonized by microbial communities termed microbiota. When organisms are exposed to environmental pollutants, these substances will therefore encounter microbiota at the exposure interface.

Alexander Kros and co-workers describe how mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are delivered into cells via membrane fusion thereby omitting endocytosis pathways. Fusion is induced by a pair of complementary coiled-coil lipopeptides inserted into the membrane of cells and in the bilayer of lipid-coated…

A new computer simulation shows the promising possibilities of the booming field of topology. Smartly designed mechanical structures carry sound exclusively one way and are immune to fabrication errors. Publication on 17 July in Nature Physics.

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)

Rather than one key and one strong lock, biology often uses tens or hundreds of weaker links to bind parts together, such as cells membranes. This allows for selectivity and also reversibility: the binding can also be undone. Researchers first caught this phenomenon using spheres or colloids, and published…

Leiden physicists exploit self-assembly of small particles to someday create functional structures such as micro-robots from the bottom up. They have now taken an important step forward by experimentally realizing joints at micrometer scale. Publication in Nanoscale.

Manufacturers produce high-end technology mostly top-down with large machinery, but small particles are able to build structures by themselves from the bottom up. A major challenge is that these particles easily clump together. Leiden physicist Daniela Kraft has developed a method to use this phenomenon…

Playing with tiny building blocks might sound like child’s play, but Vera Meester knows better. On June 7 she will defend her thesis on colloids: micro particles with which you can form larger structures. Meester developed a method to make unusable structures usable.

Lecture

All microscopic objects, from enzymes to paint particles, are jittering constantly, bombarded by solvent particles: this is called Brownian motion. How does this motion change when the object is flexible instead of rigid? Ruben Verweij, Pepijn Moerman and colleagues published the first measurements…

Physicists at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) conduct fundamental research into physical phenomena. They are inspired by curiosity and the desire to know more about the world in which we live. This research has always paved the way for new practical applications. These are something that the…

Physicists at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) conduct fundamental research into physical phenomena. They are inspired by curiosity and the desire to know more about the world in which we live. This research has always paved the way for new practical applications. These are something that the…

Chemical biology research at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry is aimed at understanding biological processes at the molecular level to strengthen the knowledge base of human health and disease. The approach to achieve this goal is a fundamental chemical one; with the aid of chemical probes biological…

The Biological- and Soft-Matter Physics Master specialisation is one of the two programmes Leiden offers in experimental Physics. The programme can to a high degree be tailored to individual needs and interests.

Four scientists from Leiden University have each been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant, worth up to two million euros, gives researchers the opportunity to head up a research team for five years.

This year, two Leiden physicists have earned a prestigious ERC Starting Grant. With a budget of 1.5 million euros, this is one of the largest individual grants for scientists.

The Joan Van der Waals colloquium is an ongoing bi-weekly lecture series.

Vera Meester has won the annual Physics Image Award 2016, with her photo of 'smiling' colloids. The Volkskrant published the picture as Image of the Week.

How do insurance products transform intimate and personal relations? What are the consequences of the classifications that insurance companies use and how do these affect solidarity, morality and inequality?

On Monday 20 July 2020, members of the Business & Liability Research Network (BLRN), Tim Verdoes (Business Studies), Jelle Nijland and Gert-Jan Boon (both Corporate Law) contributed to the online conference Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (Sase). This years' conference was themed 'Development…

There are miniaturisation beams, microrobots, and ice skaters who suddenly drop into a hole in the ice. Students of the local MBO Rijnland let their imagination run free while animating Leiden physics research. The result is eleven surprising and very diverse science animations.

What do Byzantine fashion, mosaics, fortifications and menas ampullae have in common? Find out the answer at the second edition of a mini exhibition on Byzantine archaeology in the Van Steenis building.

Former PhD, Bachelor and Master students of the Van Exter Lab

From prow to stern, this little boat measures 30 micrometers, about a third of the thickness of a hair. It has been 3D-printed by Leiden physicists Rachel Doherty, Daniela Kraft and colleagues.

Those pesky raindrops that get you wet on your way to work, are formed high up in the sky from clouds of water vapour. The process of nucleation describes the way this happens. Edgar Blokhuis of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry developed a theory to describe this transition more precisely. Chemists…

On Saturday 25 June, the Europa Institute of Leiden University hosted the 61st Leiden-London Meeting, an annual event organized jointly by the Europa Institute and the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). This year’s meeting had “Interdependence, cooperation and strategic…

Daniela Kraft and her research are a familiar fixture at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION). Both have been awarded fellowships, grants and frequent media coverage. Effective July 1, Kraft has been appointed professor of Experimental physics, particularly in soft and biological matter.

Proteins organize themselves around our body cells through a self-induced force. They indent the cell membrane, which makes them roll towards each other. This discovery provides new insights into processes like nutritional uptake and brain signaling, as well as into such diseases as Alzheimer’s. Publication…

A team led by Erik Danen from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research has received a 3 million euros NWO Science Groot grant to unravel the first steps of metastasis. Danen will work together with biologists and theoretical and experimental physicists from Dutch Universities. ‘Understanding these…

Each student chooses an individual topic or theme on which they would like to do a graduation research project. Read the below rules and guidelines before you embark on the graduation project.