Organization profile

Introduction / mission

The mission of our group is to understand the mechanisms of biological materials formation processes and to apply the underlying principles in bioinspired materials synthesis

Highlighted phrase

Biology represents a source of inspiration for materials chemistry

Organisational profile

Biominerals such as bones, teeth and shells have properties that often outclass those of man-made materials. Hence, these biological materials form an important source of inspiration for materials chemistry where the rational synthesis of materials with predefined organization and properties is a major goal. For this we must unravel the mechanisms of biologically controlled mineral formation. We advance our understanding of biological and bioinspired materials formation by monitoring these processes with dynamic, in situ measurements. Within the Sommerdijk Lab this is pursued along two closely related research lines: “Biological Materials Chemistry” and “Bio-inspired Materials” for which we continuously develop “Multiscale Electron Microscopy” methods.

Biological Materials Chemistry. We explore the principles of biological materials formation by investigating the biological processes in living systems from a materials chemistry point of view. We investigate the mechanism of collagen mineralization in bone, and the biomineralization processes of technologically important material such as magnetite in magnetotactic bacteria and silica in diatoms.

Bio-inspired Materials. We pursue the application of biological principles in the development of technologically relevant materials, exploiting the ability of natural materials (e.g. collagen) to guide the formation of inorganic components on the nanometer level, but also form complex hierarchical 3D architectures, aiming at advanced properties.

Multiscale Electron Microscopy. We use advanced electron microscopic techniques, for dynamic and 3D imaging from the nanometer to the multi micrometer level. We maximize the information obtained by image processing, visualization and quantitative data analysis, as well as by correlating with chemical information from super-resolution microscopy and spectroscopy.

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Profiles

Joanna Aizenberg

j.aizenberg@tue.nl

Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Materials and Interface Chemistry - Distinguished Professor

Person: HGL em : Full Professor emeritus

Paul H.H. Bomans

p.h.h.bomans@tue.nl

Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Materials and Interface Chemistry - Education/Research Officer

Person: OBP : Supportive and management staff

Esther E.A. Cramer

e.e.a.cramer@tue.nl

Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Materials and Interface Chemistry - Doctoral Candidate

Person: Prom. : doctoral candidate (PhD)

Research Output 1960 2020

1544 Article
289 Conference contribution
110 Phd Thesis 1 (Research TU/e / Graduation TU/e)
43 Chapter
159 More

Low-dose (S)TEM elemental analysis of water and oxygen uptake in beam sensitive materials

Leijten, Z. J. W. A., Wirix, M. J. M., Strauss, M., Plitzko, J. M., de With, G. & Friedrich, H., 1 Jan 2020, In : Ultramicroscopy. 208, 8 p., 112855

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Open Access

File

Oxygen

Transmission electron microscopy

dosage

transmission electron microscopy

Water

A biomimetic model for mineralization of type-I collagen fibrils

Yao, S., Xu, Y., Shao, C., Nudelman, F., Sommerdijk, N. A. J. M. & Tang, R., 1 Jan 2019, Collagen: Methods and protocols. Sagi, I. & Afratis, N. A. (eds.). Springer, p. 39-54 16 p. (Methods in Molecular Biology; vol. 1944)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Biomimetics

Collagen Type I

Durapatite

Tendons

Dentin

Activity modelling of the solid-liquid equilibrium of deep eutectic solvents

Kollau, L. J. B. M., Vis, M., van den Bruinhorst, A., de With, G. & Tuinier, R., 21 May 2019, In : Pure and Applied Chemistry. 91, 8, p. 1341–1349

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Open Access

Eutectics

Liquids

Melting point

Binary mixtures

Activity coefficients

Equipment

Center for Multiscale Electron Microscopy (CMEM)

Nico A.J.M. Sommerdijk (Manager), Heiner Friedrich (Manager), Imanda Scholten - Kamstra (Other), Paul Bomans (Operator), Rick Joosten (Operator), Demi de Moor (Operator), Pauline Schmit (Operator), Ingeborg Schreur - Piet (Operator), Anne Spoelstra (Operator) & Nina Romme - van Moll (Other)