Jongkees Research Group

The Jongkees group (Chemical Biology and Biotechnology) uses chemical and biological tools to conduct research at the interface of peptides, proteins and carbohydrates.

Research in our group is centred around genetic code reprogramming, bio-orthogonal chemistry, and high throughput in vitro peptide display. Using these cutting edge chemical and biochemical technologies, we aim to define a new class of ligands for interrogation and modulation of proteins, especially those involved in carbohydrate biology. These small de novo macrocyclic peptides decorated with non-canonical functional groups have exemplary affinity and selectivity, and are applicable across very diverse targets. Research in the group is focused on development of new methods for library modification, including new non-canonical amino acids to incorporate by ribosomal translation and new chemo-selective reactions for modification following translation, as well as application of these technologies to discover new chemical entities for biological studies and drug development. Our research involves synthetic organic chemistry of both building blocks and peptides, analytical studies of new reactions, optimisation of in vitro translation conditions, biochemical characterisation of interactions with proteins, and in vitro selection to discover new bioactive molecules. 

If you are interested in this research, please do not hesitate to make contact.

Our group is a part of the department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU).