Enzymology and Molecular Biology

Macro molecular Biochemistry & Tissue Engineering

Macromolecular Biochemistry is a section of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry at Leiden University, comprizing the PIs Marcellus Ubbink and Remus Dame. The research is aimed at understanding protein & nucleic acid structure, function and interactions. Particular interests comprise protein-protein interactions & enzyme function (Prof. Ubbink) and biophysical aspects of protein - DNA interactions (Dr. Dame).

A macromolecule is a very large molecule, such as protein, commonly created by the polymerization of smaller subunits (monomers). They are typically composed of thousands of atoms or more. The most common macromolecules in biochemistry are biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) and large non-polymeric molecules (such as lipids and macro cycles).Synthetic macromolecules include common plastics and synthetic fibers as well as experimental materials such as carbon nanotubes.

Tissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to improve or replace biological tissues. Tissue engineering involves the use of a tissue scaffold for the formation of new viable tissue for a medical purpose. While it was once categorized as a sub-field of biomaterials, having grown in scope and importance it can be considered as a field in its own.