Leiden Institute of Chemistry

The role of bubble formation in sustainable hydrogen production

The sustainable production of hydrogen could potentially be made more efficient by adding a cleverly chosen salt to the process. Researchers at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), in collaboration with physicists at the University of Twente, have discovered that the type of salt present in the production of hydrogen through electrolysis affects the formation of hydrogen bubbles. This is interesting because bubble formation affects the efficiency of hydrogen production.

Caught in living cells: how bacteria regulate their genes to defend themselves

‘When I first saw the results, I immediately called my supervisor!’

For the first time, it was shown in living cells how the bacterium E. coli regulates genes that help it survive in a new environment. Biochemist Fatema Zahra Rashid managed to do this using a technique she fine-tuned. Her research into changes in 3-dimensional chromosome structure offers clues for ways to fight pathogens.

Fighting cancer with light (and a drug that self-assembles into nanoparticles)

Chemotherapy that does not harm the body, but effectively fights cancer cells: that is the goal of chemist Sylvestre Bonnet and his team. Former PhD candidate Xuequan Zhou brought that goal a little closer. He developed molecules that, upon injection in the bloodstream, self-assemble into nanoparticles that accumulate in the tumour. Targeted irradiation with visible light then attacks the tumour thoroughly.