Making use of single-molecule optical and AFM imaging and drive-spectroscopy approaches, we search for to unravel the mechanistic facets of the structure and dynamics of chromosomes. Our study pursuits incorporate:
Our group scientific tests bacterial mobile division and is also aiming to constitute a ‘base up biology’ in artificial cells that could autonomously divide. Our principal curiosity lies in cell division, chromatin composition, and spatial Regulate.
[Laughs] ‘It absolutely was unquestionably an awesome hazard! At some time, I had been very well informed that it could go Mistaken and that I could turn out to be much less successful, but I just disregarded that. Curiosity has generally been my strongest driving pressure. And fortuitously it all labored out.’
Given that 2000, Dekker has shifted the leading concentrate of his operate to biophysics exactly where he scientific tests the properties of single biomolecules and cells using the tools of nanotechnology. This variation of subject was pushed by his fascination for the exceptional operating of Organic molecular buildings, in addition to through the extensive-time period perspective that a lot of exciting discoveries is often envisioned in this area.[5] Existing lines of investigation in his biophysics team are from the regions of:[6]
This yielded a breakthrough. Inside only some months, we had been ready to measure transportation by way of an individual solitary-walled carbon nanotube. Depending on low-temperature experiments by an excellent PhD student in my group, Sander Tans (now a valued colleague and professor at Delft College of Technological innovation with an Energetic research lab at AMOLF in Amsterdam), we showed that carbon nanotubes were being real quantum wires with pretty extended (micrometres) Digital coherence lengths — confirming theoretical predictions of metallic behaviour.
Electrical transportation in monolayers of phthalocyanine molecular wires and AFM imaging of an individual wire bridging two electrodes
What distinguishes biology from chemistry is these factors with each other make up a dwelling technique. The trick of explained life, I feel, lies in the interactions, the interplay of All those molecules. The big concern concerning the origin of everyday living continues to be unanswered. How did we at any time evolve from simple molecules in the very advanced methods we see currently? We have no idea. I want to operate on These types of large, open thoughts.’
2011, very first in vitro measurements of transport across a single biomimetic nuclear pore complex; development of multiplexed magnetic tweezers for kilo-molecule experiments; and fixed the system of homology recognition in DNA homologous recombination
The rotors harness cees dekker Strength from a nanoscale h2o and ion stream which is generated by a static chemical or electrochemical opportunity gradient while in the nanopore, that happen to be proven through a salt gradient or used voltage, respectively. These artificial nanoengines self-Manage and run autonomously in physiological circumstances, suggesting ways to setting up Power-transducing motors at nanoscale interfaces.
It was for the duration of this era that Dekker performed investigate on magnetic spin systems and on noise in superconductors and semiconductors.
In 1993 he was appointed as Affiliate Professor at Delft College of Engineering. From the mid-1990s Dekker and his team realized good results with the discovery of your Digital Houses of carbon nanotubes, the 1st solitary-molecule transistor together with other nanoscience.
1999, very first measurement of your wavefunction of single molecular orbitals of carbon nanotubes; and discovery of kink heterojunctions of carbon nanotubes which gave decisive proof to get a new Luttinger description of interacting electrons in nanotubes
Electrical transportation in monolayers of phthalocyanine molecular wires and AFM imaging of a single wire bridging two electrodes
At last, I'll briefly sketch some of our Suggestions to discover the creating of synthetic cells, exclusively our 1st techniques to ascertain artificial cell division.