The XStruct Group: X-ray Structures & Bio-Inorganic Chemistry

The XStruct research group focuses on X-ray structures in general and Bio-Inorganic Chemistry in specific. Led by Prof. dr. Kristof Van Hecke, the group is part of the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry at Ghent University and belongs to the UGent Advanced Chemical Analysis expertise platform.

Single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) or crystallography is by far the most accurate way to obtain 3D structures of molecules at the atomic level. We use this technique to determine the molecular structures of several compounds, ranging from small (in)organic molecules, ionic liquids (IL's), metal-organic complexes and frameworks (MOF’s), bio-inorganic materials to modified DNA oligonucleotides and peptides.

Crystallography & Structure Determination Service

Do you want to know the 3D structure and the absolute configuration of your novel small molecule compounds?

XStruct provides a full crystallization and single-crystal structure determination service towards UGhent researchers, other (inter)national universities and research institutes, as well as industrial partners.

Please feel free to contact prof. K. Van Hecke for further information (Kristof.VanHecke@UGent.be | +32 9 264 48 70).

Key Research Areas

• Bio-Inorganic Chemistry: In bio-inorganic chemistry, the interactions between biological material (e.g. DNA) and inorganic molecules/atoms (e.g. lanthanides complexes, Hg ions) are studied. High-resolution structural information is needed, to elucidate the structure-function relationship of these molecules.
• Theranostics & Bio-Imaging: In particular, our research interest considers the interactions of inorganic metal- and lanthanide-containing compounds with biological material in order to design novel sensors for bio-imaging and novel drug molecules for antitumor and anticancer photodynamic therapies.
• Chiral & Helical Self-Assemblies: Investigating the chiral and helical self-assemblies of metal complexes and coordination architectures.
• DNA Mismatches as Targets for Metal-Ions: DNA mismatches as targets for metal-ions and their assessment in crystallographic phasing.
• Charge Density Analysis: Charge density analysis for validation of theoretical analyses in amino acid single crystals.
• State-of-the-Art Facilities: An in-house state-of-the-art diffractometer (Agilent SuperNova) is available, as well as access to international synchrotron beamlines for high-intensity X-ray radiation.

Principal Investigator

Prof. dr. Kristof Van Hecke • Group Leader • Ghent University Department of Chemistry (Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry).
Email: Kristof.VanHecke@UGent.be | Telephone: +32 9 264 48 70 | Bibliography: UGent Biblio Profile | LinkedIn: Prof. Kristof Van Hecke on LinkedIn

Contact & Location