Projects

Proteases are enzymes that cut proteins by catalyzing the hydrolysis of the peptide bond. They can be found in almost every organism, where they play a part in many biological pathways and are involved in various human diseases. For example, cathepsins, a class of cysteine proteases, are upregulated in various cancers, making them an interesting biomarker and suitable targets for tumor labeling.

An excellent method for the detection of ...

Proteases are involved in many highly regulated biological processes, such as apoptosis, cell-cell communication and blood coagulation. Inhibitors and activity-based probes (ABPs) have been successfully utilized as chemical tools to study these enzymes. However, when studying fast and dynamic processes, local and temporal acivation of these reagents is desirable. Such reagents can first of all be used for basic study of these processes, but ...

Activity-based probes (ABPs) are small molecular tools that allow the detection and monitoring of enzyme activity by covalently binding onto the active site of the enzyme. They consist of a warhead that binds the enzyme, a recognition element that alters the selectivity of the probe and a detection tag that allows the visualization, quantification or purification of probe-labeled enzymes. ABPs are applied to elucidate enzyme function, enzyme ...

This project seeks to develop diffraction−unlimited imaging of biosensors, creating activity maps with a diffraction−unlimited spatial resolution in living systems. We will meet this challenge using a two−pronged approach, focusing both on the development of sensors and new imaging strategies. Based on existing scaffolds, we will develop sensors that display strong photochromism, providing reversible fluorescence dynamics intrinsically suited ...