"Molecular biosensors for continuous patient monitoring will help to make healthcare truly personal"

With his research group, Menno Prins aims at the development of technologies to detect proteins and study protein function with single-molecule resolution in complex macromolecular environments such as blood plasma. This entails the investigation of biophysical manipulation and detection methods with emphasis on the use of small particles. These particles offer the possibility to actively transport biological materials and to detect the presence and properties of specific targets. 

The capability to probe individual molecules enables the researchers to reveal novel characteristics of the molecules, e.g. distributions of molecular properties (such as affinity or kinetic parameters, variations in space and/or in time). Moreover, it allows the study of properties that are difficult or even impossible to measure on ensembles of molecules, e.g. molecular torsion constants. The research of the MBx group leads to novel biosensing technologies and to a better understanding of molecular functions within complex and crowded environments.

Menno Prins is the founder and organizer of SensUs, the annual international student competition in the field of bioensors for health (www.sensus.org). SensUs serves as a platform to accelerate education and innovation in the field of biosensing, with participation of international academic research groups, companies, and healthcare organizations.

The research activities are part of the Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS) and the Strategic Area Health (SA Health).

Menno Prins studied Applied Physics at Université Paris XI and Delft University of Technology where he obtained his MSc degree cum laude. He received his PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen in 1995. He then moved to Philips Research where he worked on microfluidics and point-of-care biosensing. In 2005, he was appointed as part-time professor at Eindhoven University of Technology in the department of Applied Physics. In 2014, he was appointed full Professor in Molecular Biosensing for Medical Diagnostics in the departments of BioMedical Engineering and Applied Physics.