Name Activity "Analytical and Environmental Chemistry" "The Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Laboratory of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is involved in environmental research and more specifically of aquatic systems: open ocean, coastal seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes. This research is funded by international (EC, UN), national and regional organisations. As a part of the greenhouse problem, the impact of plankton productivity on the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide is estimated via nitrogen uptake measurements in the euphotic oceans layer and the subsequent redistribution to the oceans interior and the seafloor. The relationships between the different levels of the aquatic food chain or food web are studied via natural stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Trace metal biogeochemistry (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, ..), with a special focus on metal speciation, is intensively studied in seas, estuaries and specific freshwater environments. The leaching capacity of contaminated sediments, particularly important when general water quality conditions such as redox or salinity are modified, is assessed by sequential extraction techniques and dynamic flow experiments. Furthermore, major and minor elements are investigated along growth axes of non-organic biogenic substrates such as shells and corals. For all these environmental studies appropriate analytical techniques and protocols, including quality assurance programs, are developed, adapted and validated. Mathematical models conceptualise the transport and biogeochemical processes of the studied compounds in the various aquatic environments." "Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology" "The department consists of two research groups. The main subject of the first (Analytical chemistry) is chemometrics, the application of mathematical and statistical methods to chemical data. This includes both fundamental and more applied work. The fundamental work involves for instance the development of more robust neural networks, variable selection in conjunction with partial least squares or wavelet signal processing that can be applied to sets of spectra instead of to single spectra. The applications, often carried out in collaboration with consortium of industries, such as Glaxo-Wellcome, Novartis, Unilever and Shell to name only a few, concern the online analysis of processes, algorithms for autonomic recognition of excipients with near infra red data, multivariate calibration methods for the determination of octane numbers or the content of active substances in pharmaceuticals, purity analysis of pharmaceuticals, experimental design to speed up the upscaling of granulation processes, schemes for comparing and validating two analysis methods, etc. Additionally, separation methods in pharmaceutical analysis are studied. For instance, a knowledge based method for the selection and optimisation of separation methods for chiral drugs is developed. The second research group concerns Pharmaceutical technology: the subject is the development of different pharmaceutical forms and the investigation of the important parameters involved using optimisation techniques (tableting, sustained release, coating, liposomes, dissolution, chemical stability)." "Analytical, Environmental & Geo-Chemistry" "Philippe Claeys" "The scientific approach focuses on the holistic use of biogeochemical tracers, such as elemental concentrations (Cd, Pb, PGE etc.) and isotopic ratios (D/H, 18O/16O, 13C/12C, 15N/14N, 87Sr/88Sr...), - in some cases referred to as ""proxies"" - that are measured on a substrate (e.g. mineral phase, fossil, mussel-shell, teeth, seawater, phytoplankton, ice cores etc.) to infer specific environmental parameters (such as condition of formation, temperature, acidity, salinity, CO2 level, composition, bio-productivity etc.). Variations in these ""proxies"" characterize the factors triggering or resulting from (paleo)environmental changes and document at different scales, the short and/or long-term effects of these modifications on the Global Earth System. Although not commonly carried out, the analyses in close conjunction of modern and ancient global changes, including pollution are highly complementary and mutually beneficial. Ongoing changes are monitored and documented at very high resolution, while the geological record traces the evolution of these changes through time, providing an extra dimension, missing from the modern data. On the other hand, environmental changes due to recent anthropogenic activities can have many adverse effects on human health. The themes constitute cutting-edge international research challenges. To address them, innovative analytical procedures are continuously being developed using the facilities available at the VUB and its partner universities. This analytical toolbox is then applied to various Earth, Environmental and Environmental-Health Science problems, often coupled with modeling. This research is supported by various external-funding sources (FWO, BELSPO IUAP, STEUNPUNT MILIEU-GEZONDHEID) and by a VUB Strategic Research grant (2013 - 2017)." "Applied and Analytical Chemistry" "1. Development and application of suitable analytical strategies for advanced material systems for studying their performance,structure, processing, environmental impact and specific applications with a focus on (bio)polymers.2. Integrated use of complementary and hyphenated analytical techniques for problem solving3. Valorization of waste streams using pyrolysis as a thermal conversion techniques for green energy and chemical feedstock.4. Synergy between fundamental, applied research and scientific servicing." "Applied Nuclear Magnetic Resonance" "The research group for ""Applied Nuclear Magnetic Resonance"" has a number of own research topics as well as collaborations with many other groups inside and outside the university which take advantage of the available infrastructure. The group specialized in the NMR spectral study of nitrogen containing organic substances. These compounds are being synthesized in close collaboration with the ""Organic Synthesis"" group of the university. In most cases palladium catalyzed reactions are used with or without flash microwave heating. This research topic is related to the search for new compounds with biological activity against malaria. A new project deals with the NMR spectral study of biological liquids such as for example cerebrospinal liquid. This project is being started making use of the recently acquired new equipment. The NMR infrastructure of the group and the interuniversitary collaboration with other groups enable us to carry out a number of other studies on request. In this case the subjects of study can be very different going from small quantities of isolated natural compounds to inorganic complexes or synthetic polymers." "AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)" "The AXES research group (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation) performs fundamental, methodological and application-oriented research involving a wide range of analytical techniques. A recurring theme in our research is the use of state-of-the-art methods for determination of low concentration levels and/or for imaging of (one or multiple) analyte species. These methods are frequently (but not exclusively) applied to address environmental problems." "Bio- & Chemical Systems Technology, Reactor Engineering and Safety Section" "Chemische procestechniek Modelling of gas-solid chemical reactors. Bubble flow, heat transfer and conversion in fluidized bed reactors. Numerical analysis of the bifurcation behavior of non-linear systems. Catalytic reduction of NOx in automotive exhaust gases. Modelling of multistage separation processes. Computer-aided design of chemical processes: development of simulation programs. Energy integration in chemical processes." "Bio-organic mass spectrometry" "Research is performed in two main areas: structural characterisation of biomolecules and organic chemical analysis of carbonaceous atmospheric aerosols. 1. With regard to research on biomolecules, mass spectrometric methods are developed for the structural characterization of organic compounds that are biologically active or that are relevant because of their climatic effects. The methods are based on the use of a soft ionisation technique, i.e. electrospray ionisation, in combination with collision-induced dissociation and tandem mass spectrometry. Methodology is available for the structural analysis of the following biomolecules: lipids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, flavonoids and saponins, as well as for the study of the interaction between haem and antimalarial agents of the indoloquinoline and artemisinin types. Current research focuses on the development of methods for the structural analysis of flavonoid glycosides. 2. With regard to organic chemical analysis of carbonaceous atmospheric aerosols, methods are being developed for the determination of indicator compounds that can provide valuable information on aerosol sources and source processes. Use is made of gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry in combination with suitable sample workup that generally consists of extraction and derivatisation. More specifically, methods are available for the determination of (1) levoglucosan, a marker for biomass burning, (2) several photo-oxidation products of isoprene and ¿-pinene, and (3) arabitol and mannitol, markers for fungal spores. In addition, attention is given to the structural characterization of unknown molecules. The research is done in close collaboration with the research group Tropospheric Aerosol Research and Nuclear Microanalysis (W. Maenhaut, Department Analytical Chemistry, UGent). Current research in collaboration with foreign research groups deals with: - Characterisation of photo-oxidation products of isoprene, alfa-pinene and toluene; - Determination of photo-oxidation products of isoprene in rural aerosols; and - Determination of arabitol and mannitol in urban aerosols." "Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)" "Jan Dries" "The research of the BioWaVE group is directed towards the development and application of smart biochemical engineering technologies for a sustainable water cycle. Our research is specifically focused on industrial wastewater engineering and wastewater valorization." "Biomolecular & Analytical Mass Spectrometry (BAMS)" "Filip Lemière" "The Biomolecular & Analytical Mass Spectrometry (BAMS) group at the University of Antwerp focuses on different aspects of method development and application of mass spectrometric methods in Chemistry and Biology. It combines the research groups of Profs. Frank Sobott, Filip Lemière and Luc Van Vaeck(†). Their research interests include LC-MS and tandem MS analysis, native MS, ion mobility and novel top-down sequencing approaches, and MS imaging, with applications ranging from biomedical, biochemical and chemical questions to materials science."