The chemical and structural heterogeneity of toxoid vaccines makes their analysis challenging. However, detailed insights on a molecular level can be obtained by mass spectrometry.

The lysosomal β-glucosidase named glucocerebrosidase (GCase) is a retaining β-glucosidase that hydrolyzes the glycosphingolipid glucosylceramide (GlcCer) to ceramide and glucose at acid pH.

The spindle-assembly checkpoint (SAC) is a safety mechanism which secures accurate chromosome segregation during mitosis.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. F. van Dishoeck

Several single-stranded RNA viruses make use of Xrn1-resistant RNAs in their 3’ untranslated regions of their genome RNAs in order to increase their pathogenicity.

This thesis studied in depth the energy use and CO2 emissions of the industrial sector in China.

Streptomyces are prolific producers of enzymes and secondary metabolites, including more than 50% of all clinical antibiotics. This makes them highly attractive for medical, biotechnological, and industrial purposes.

Plant-microbe interaction resulted in different physio/chemical responses by host plant and interacting rhizobacteria.

Promotor: A. Kros

Promotor: Jaap Brouwer, Co-promotor: Remus Th. Dame

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.P. Abrahams, Prof.dr. M. van Heel

The focus of this thesis is how stars like our Sun and planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth are formed.

Promotor: E. Bouwman, Co-Promotor: S. Bonnet

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

Stars like the sun are born in large molecular clouds existing from gas and dust. During the formation process, the chemical composition of the material can be altered drastically by the changing physical conditions.

We have conducted a full spectral line survey of the 3-13 micron region of two massive protostars, AFGL 2591 and AFGL 2136, for the first time at high spectral resolution.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A. Doelman, Co-promotor: V. Rottschäfer

Promotor: Prof.dr. P.G.L Klinkhamer, Co-promotor: K. Vrieling

Streptomyces present a valuable platform for natural product discovery. Lugdunomycin is a novel angucycline-derived polyketide from Streptomyces sp QL37, with unprecedented skeleton and antimicrobial activity.

My work focuses on a class of astronomical objects called protoplanetary disks.

The recently introduced nature-originated deep eutectic solvents, so-called natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are considered as truly green solvents, which composed of natural ingredients found abundantly in organisms.

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

This thesis examines the link between simple molecules and the underlying structure and chemistry within protoplanetary disks - the birthplaces of planets.

Over the last three decades, the discovery of exoplanets has revealed the boundless variety of worlds beyond our own Solar System⁠. Majority of planetary systems contain short-period planets that are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune⁠.

With increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and their detrimental effect on the global climate, modern society needs to push for more renewable energy sources. Storing widely accessible and abundant solar energy in chemical bonds in the form of molecular fuel via artificial photosynthesis…

The research aims to explore the evolutionary adaptability of enzymes and the impact of temperature on protein evolution pathways, using M. tuberculosis β-lactamase BlaC as the object of study. Enzymes inherently embody a delicate balance between activity and stability, and the acquisition of new enzymatic…

Solute carrier (SLC) transporters are a large and diverse class of relatively understudied transmembrane proteins.

With the energy transition toward a renewable energy supply and a CO2-neutral economy, electrification of the energy system is rising in importance, which leads to the challenge of long-term storage of renewable electricity.

Promotor: Prof.dr. C.W.J. Beenakker

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium which can form biofilms, increasing its resistance against antibiotics and the host immune system. Polysaccharides are an integral part of this biofilm, one of these polysaccharides is called Psl. PslG is a glycosidase, able to cleave this polysaccharide,…

Advanced UHF MRI techniques provide powerful tools for studying the zebrafish brain, an emerging model in neurological research. In this work, various MRI and localized MRS methods are optimized and employed for UHF strength for studying the zebrafish brain.

Assessing the risks of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) solely on the basis of experimental assays is time-consuming, resource intensive, and constrained by ethical considerations (such as the principles of the 3Rs of animal testing). The adoption of computational toxicology in this field is a high p…

Ice, the solid state of water, plays an important role on our planet as well as the entire universe.Despite the fact that an individual water molecule has a very simple structure, its chemical bonding in the solid phase can be surprisingly complex.

Nucleoid associated proteins maintain the architecture of the bacterial chromosome and regulate gene expression, hinting that their role as transcription factors may involve local three-dimensional chromosome re-modelling.

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

Single-layer graphene (SLG) has attracted considerable interest as a proton exchange membrane for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), owing to its atomic thickness, mechanical robustness, and unique proton permeability.

This dissertation presents the synthesis and evaluation of antibody recognition for various capsular polysaccharide (CP) fragments of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most pressing challenges that humanity faces in the coming decades.

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

Per 15 december 2025 is Dr. Leila Akkari benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar bij het Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC). Haar leerstoel met de opdracht Kanker-Immuun Interacties is gevestigd door het Nederlands Kankerinstituut (NKI), alwaar Dr. Akkari werkzaam is als onderzoeker.

De bijzondere tumorselectieve eigenschappen van apoptin zijn als eerste in de wereld in Leiden ontdekt. Onze studies tonen aan dat PTD4-apoptin eiwit in potentie ontwikkeld kan worden tot een veilig en effectief nieuw antitumormiddel.

Intelligentie was lange tijd hét kenmerk van de mensheid. Maar inmiddels beginnen computers ons naar de kroon te steken. Kunstmatige intelligentie komt in hoog tempo onze samenleving binnen, en blijkt dingen te kunnen die tot voor kort uniek menselijk leken. Maar hoe is een computer slim? En wat zegt…

Promotie

Welke impact hebben discussies over en bewezen beschuldigingen van etnisch profileren op organisaties en de (grens)politieagenten die op operationeel niveau werken? Gedurende een periode van drie jaar (november 2023 – november 2026) zal dit innovatieve transdisciplinaire onderzoeksproject zich richten…

This thesis systematically studies the physicochemical properties of non-planar, propeller-shaped, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The synthesis of several so-called propellerenes is described on a gram scale, using optimized procedures aimed at using less hazardous reagents and reducing the amount…

In this thesis, a system pharmacology approach, integrating metabolomics, pharmacology and chemical biology, was applied to understand and modulate the endocannabinoid system across different model systems (cells, zebrafish, mice and humans).

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

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.S. Overkleeft

Promotor: E. Bouwman, Co-promotor: S. Bonnet

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of orphan diseases characterized by lysosomal dysfunction or impaired lysosomal catabolism and affect collectively about 1 in 5000 live births.