Preview Evening of Chemistry 2023

Synthetic materials, naturally!

Dankers uses her knowledge of polymeric materials to solve medical problems. Plastics, or synthetic polymers, have enormously transformed our lives over the past hundred years. These polymeric materials have varied applications, ranging from everyday plastic sandwich bags to essential medicines and vaccines. In the pursuit of more advanced applications within the biomedical sector, the need for polymeric materials with more complex properties is growing. Dankers poses the questions: ‘Wouldn’t it be fantastic if plastics could break down on demand in response to an external signal? And wouldn’t it be a godsend if plastics could behave like living materials?’

Dankers draws inspiration from the complex natural material in which cells are embedded — the extracellular matrix — and mimics the properties of this natural matrix. ‘The goal is to create materials that are bioactive and capable of performing new functions across different time and length scales. Ultimately, synthetic materials will become natural!’

The (re)discovery of anthracycline cancer drugs — and what next?

Neefjes has spent years dedicating himself to researching a widely used form of chemotherapy: anthracyclines. Although anthracyclines such as doxorubicin have been around for half a century, they remain of vital importance in the treatment of cancer. However, anthracyclines are also highly toxic, which not only hampers the effectiveness of treatment but also leads to considerable long-term effects on patients’ quality of life, such as the potential need for a heart transplant. So what do you do when you can develop a less toxic variant of doxorubicin, but lack a strong patent position?

Supported by Veronica van Nederveen of the Stichting Patientenstem.nu, Neefjes discusses the approach to developing cancer drugs at the interface between academia and industry. Neefjes: ‘This route is costly and unfavourable for traditional academic output — in effect, academic suicide — yet it remains of crucial importance for the well-being of cancer patients.’ During the Avond van de Chemie, Nederveen and Neefjes will jointly discuss the impact that academic research has on patients.