Abrupt Climate Change and Cultural Transformation

The research in the Biosyn group is focused on the design, synthesis and function of the four major types of biomolecules: nucleic acids, carbohydrates, peptides and lipids and hybrid structures thereof. These biomolecules and their derivatives are used in drug discovery and chemical biology, to develop…

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: D.C. Codée

Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by blood dwelling parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, and it is classified as the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease, second only to malaria.

An objective of this research was to achieve direct, well-defined and non-rate-limiting electron transfer between respiratory enzymes and the electrode surface by means of 'Q-wires'.

Chapter 2 describes a post-synthetic methodology to introduce a fluorescent label in highly lipophilic, Pam3Cys based conjugates.

Cyclic peptides are investigated as a platform to induce different orientations between various ligands.

PhD Defence

This project aims at determining the market value of hydrogen peroxide (HP) that is produced via our electrochemical methods that have been developed as part of the ERC-StG Cu4Energy project.

The thesis focuses on synthesis strategies in oligosaccharide campaigns, and the influence of protecting groups.

The work in this thesis has been focused on two subjects. The first is the assembly of alginate oligosaccharides and the generation of building blocks for the enzymatic synthesis of alginate, and the second is the total synthesis of large fragments of the zwitterionic SP1 polysaccharide.

This Thesis describes a strategy to synthesize 1,2-cis-oligosaccharides modulated by additives, such as dimethylformamide (DMF), triphenylphosphine oxide (Ph3P=O) and N-methyl(phenyl)formamide (MPF), using building blocks that carry solely benzyl type protecting groups and are therefore of uniform r…

Implementation of the new sound synthesis and analysis method in music composition.

This Thesis describes the design, synthesis and evaluation as glycoprocessing enzyme inhibitors of focused libraries of iminosugars.

Promotores: H.S. Overkleeft, G.A. van der Marel, Co-Promotor: J.D.C. Codee

This thesis describes the design and synthesis of fragments of various cell wall carbohydrates of the Streptococcus species, including the branched Group B-specific antigen (GBC) of Group B Streptococcus, glycerol phosphate (GroP) modified group A carbohydrate (GAC), and the O-acetylated type 1 capsular…

Glycoconjugate vaccines are composed of microbial poly- or oligosaccharides covalently linked to a carrier protein.

Promotor: G. A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: D. V. Filippov

Sphingolipids are important membrane compounds with a variety of functions. In mammalian cells, different enzymes are involved in the metabolism of sphingolipids, but interruption of this metabolism process leads to different diseases.

In 2018, the number of mobile phone users will reach about 4.9 billion. Assuming an average of 5 photos taken per day using the built-in cameras would result in about 9 trillion photos annually.

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: J.D.C. Codée

The main subject of this thesis is the design and synthesis of paramagnetic molecules for protein studies with NMR and EPR spectroscopy.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.S. Overkleeft, Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel

Source: Bioorg Med Chem, Volume 23, Issue 14, pp. 4034-49 (2015)

Two excellent young chemists, Jeroen Codée and Sander van Kasteren, have received an ECHO grant for €260,000 from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This funding will allow them to begin their research projects.

Source: Org Biomol Chem, Volume 13, Issue 8, pp. 2407-22 (2015)

The glycosylation reaction is a pivotal reaction in creating new and complex oligosaccharides.

This thesis describes the use of a combined approach of computational and experimental techniques to gain novel insights to understand the glycosylation reaction and its reactive intermediates.

Although sugars are widely used in biological and medical research, their synthesis is still badly understood. Jeroen Codée has received a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros for systematically studying the production of sugars. ‘I want to genuinely understand the reactions.’

We will continue our popular seminar series online as long as the regulations concerning the Covid pandemic require this. We are planning the meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 2 pm, unless otherwise announced.

How are carbohydrates processed by the immune system? Can carbohydrates be used to trigger T-cells against other conjugated antigens? Can they be used as adjuvants?

Promotor: E.F.A. Deprettere, Co-Promotor: A.C.J. Kienhuis

By Marieke Liem and Frans Koenraadt. Domestic homicide constitutes an extreme type of interpersonal violence. This book offers a much-needed synthesis of the literature on domestic homicide, covering its history; the theories supporting it; its various forms such as filicide, intimate partner homicide,…

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-Promotor: J.D.C. Codée

Cholesterol influences many pathways, including serving as precursor for adrenal steroidogenesis. Imbalance of cholesterol levels has been implicated in several diseases including cardiovascular diseases and its underlying pathology, atherosclerosis.

This Thesis focuses on the design and synthesis of ADP-ribosylated compounds that can be applied in biological studies.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: L.H. Heitman

For his significant original contributions in the field of carbohydrate research, chemist Jeroen Codee will be awarded the biennial Carbohydrate Research Award for Creativity in Carbohydrate Chemistry.

Research projects

PhD students at Bio-organic Synthesis are invited to present their work during the weekly Monday Morning Biosyn Talks.

A full overview of MCBIM PhD theses.

Less than 1 in 10 drug candidates that enter phase 1 clinical trials actually gets approved for human use.

In this thesis, the discovery and optimization is described of chemical tools to study the N-acylethanolamine (NAE) biosynthetic pathway.

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-promotor: M. van der Stelt

Promotors: Prof.dr. E. Bouwman, Prof.dr. E. Drent