The TA-COAST project Higher Order Structure Analysis (HOSAna), led by prof. Govert Somsen, started in 2017. In this project, Somsen will collaborate with the Analytical Chemistry group from the UvA and with industrial partners DSM, Bruker and Postnova Analytics.
The Technology Area COAST is part of the Innovation Fund Chemistry, and aims to develop innovative analytical technologies, to perform innovative R&D and cheaper analyses with substantially higher discriminating power.
In chemistry, biotech (pharma, food) and life science domains there is an interest in studying and exploiting increasingly complex macromolecules, ranging from monoclonal antibodies to synthetic functionalized polymers. Revealing 3D structure and heterogeneity of macromolecules is challenging, especially when these are components of complex mixtures. The goal of the HOSAna project is to establish integrated analytical systems that in a one single measurement provide detailed information on size, chemical composition, conformation and aggregation of intact macromolecules. Better and faster characterization will allow more efficient development of enzymes, medicines and plastics.