Synergetic materials

Synergetic materials are materials in which the properties are more than the sum of the individual components. Research in this area is divided into three areas allosteric materials, molecular machines and single molecule studies.
Allostericity is the effect that the affinity of e.g. an enzyme to bind a certain substrate is influenced by the binding of another molecule to a different part of the enzyme. For example, hemoglobin can bind 4 oxygen molecules; after binding of 1 molecule of O2, the binding constant for binding the second molecule increases. These effects can be both positive cooperative, or negative cooperative and are the essential basis for most biological activity. In collaboration with the University of Sydney, Australia we are developing a new area of self-assembling materials which are allosterically controlled.
In collaboration with the Group of Nolte (Supramolecular Chemistry) the area of motion and catalysis is being studied. A wide variety of ring shaped organic and bioorganic ring shaped molecules have been synthesized and then threaded onto polymer wires, mimicking molecular machines. The aim of this research is to mimic the modus operandi of exonucleases and DNA polymerase found in every cell and to study the relationship between motion and catalysis.
The department, in collaboration with Maan, also investigates the properties of single molecules, e.g. enzymes. The behavior of one single catalytic site can differ greatly from the ensemble behavior: enzymes, for instance, do not work all the time, but go through several different conformations with differing catalytic activities. This 'breathing' of the molecule causes it to sleep and work.

Ph.D. students working in this group: