Bert Meijer studied chemistry at the University of Groningen and obtained his master's degree in 1978. In 1982 he earned his PhD degree summa cum laude under supervision of Prof. Hans Wijnberg. In 1982 Meijer started working at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven and in 1989 he moved to DSM Research in Geleen. In 1991 he was installed as full professor of Organic Chemistry at the department for Chemical Engineering and Chemistry of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). In 1999 his chair was also established at the department for Biomedical Engineering. Since 2004 Bert Meijer is a distinguished university professor of Molecular Sciences at TU/e. He founded the TU/e Institute for Complex Molecular Systems in 2008 and is now a co-director. Meijer is adjunct professor of Macromolecular Chemistry at Radboud University Nijmegen since 1994 and distinguished visiting professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 2008. In 2014 Bert Meijer was inducted as Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since 2018 he is also an external member of the scientific staff of the Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany.

Biomedical Chemistry

The research of Bert Meijer focuses on the design, synthesis, characterization and possible applications of supramolecular systems with unprecedented properties and functions. It is founded on the principles of synthetic organic and polymer chemistry and aims at finding solutions to challenges in materials science and life sciences. Throughout his career Bert Meijer has explored and developed functional supramolecular polymers as a new class of materials. Via advanced molecular design and synthesis he has realized systems in which monomeric units self-assemble into long supramolecular polymeric chains, resulting in materials displaying unique dynamic properties that were thought to be exclusively reserved for macromolecules. Current research in the Meijer lab focuses on fundamental studies to understand complex multi-component supramolecular systems including the assembly behavior into supramolecular polymers. These insights are used to explore the potential use of supramolecular polymers as mimics of biological tissue, using a modular approach that allows for easy adjustment of their dynamics to external stimuli. Moreover, supramolecular materials are studied to create new avenues for adaptive soft materials and materials for nanotechnology and energy.

Amplification of Asymmetry via Structural Transitions in Supramolecular Polymer-Surfactant Coassemblies de Graaf, F. V., Zoister, C., Schade, B., Hilal, T., Lou, X., Wijker, S., Schoenmakers, S. M. C., Vantomme, G., Haag, R. (Corresponding author), Singh, A. K. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 8 May 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. XX, X Antibody-Recruiting Surfaces Using Adaptive Multicomponent Supramolecular Copolymers Vleugels, M. E. J., de Korver, E., Hendrikse, S. I. S., Kardas, S., Dhiman, S., de Waal, B. F. M., Schoenmakers, S. M. C., Wijker, S., De Geest, B. G., Surin, M., Palmans, A. R. A. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 12 May 2025, In: Biomacromolecules. 26, 5, p. 2971-2985 15 p., 5c00043. Bayesian optimization for multicomponent supramolecular systems Jansen, S. A. H., Markvoort, A. J., de Graaf, F. V., Rutte, M. G. T. A., Dankers, P. Y. W., Vantomme, G. M. E., de Greef, T. F. A. & Meijer, E. W., 2025, (Submitted) In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. XX, X Circularly polarized electroluminescence from chiral supramolecular semiconductor thin films Chowdhury, R., Preuss, M. D., Cho, H. H., Thompson, J. J. P., Sen, S., K Baikie, T., Ghosh, P., Boeije, Y., Chua, X. W., Chang, K. W., Guo, E., van der Tol, J., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., Taddeucci, A., Daub, N., Dekker, D. M., Keene, S. T., Vantomme, G., Ehrler, B. & Meskers, S. C. J. & 4 others, , 14 Mar 2025, In: Science (New York, N.Y.). 387, 6739, p. 1175-1181 7 p. Crystal Lattice Analysis for 2D Nanomorphology Prediction of Phase-Separated Materials Schnitzer, T., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., Lamers, B. A. G., van Son, M. H. C., Maessen, S. J. D., de Graaf, F. V., de Waal, B. F. M., Trapp, N., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 15 Jan 2025, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 147, 2, p. 1991-1999 9 p. PhaseXplorer creates high-dimensional phase diagrams with closed-loop active learning Jansen, S. A. H., Dreyer, L., van Basten, J., Yao, Y., Otzen, D., de Greef, T. F. A., Knowles, T. P. J., Meijer, E. W. & Erkamp, N., 2025, (Submitted) In: Nature Communications. XX, X Self-Regulating Hydrogel with Reversible Optical Activity in Its Gel-to-Gel Transformation Li, J., Yin, F., Wang, J., Du, H., Xu, F., Meskers, S., Li, Y., Wijker, S., Peng, Y., Bellan, R., Vantomme, G., Song, J. (Corresponding author), Liu, C. S. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 9 May 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. XX, X Targeting 2D Nanostructures in Phase-Separated Materials through Molecular Design van Son, M. H. C., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., de Waal, B. F. M., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 25 Mar 2025, In: Macromolecules. 58, 6, p. 2917–2924 8 p. Chirality-Induced Magnetic Polarization by Charge Localization in a Chiral Supramolecular Crystal Verhage, M., Bampoulis, P., Preuss, M. D., Filot, I., Joosten, R. R. M., Friedrich, H., Meijer, E. W. & Flipse, K. (Corresponding author), 10 Oct 2024, In: Advanced Materials. 36, 41, 11 p., 2403807. Consequences of Vibrational Strong Coupling on Supramolecular Polymerization of Porphyrins Joseph, K., de Waal, B., Jansen, S. A. H., van der Tol, J. J. B., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 1 May 2024, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146, 17, p. 12130–12137 8 p. Counterintuitive Viscoelasticity of Supramolecular Polymer Networks Driven by Coassembly with Water Molecules Vereroudakis, E., Burger, N. A., Bouteiller, L., Loppinet, B., Meijer, E. W., Vlassopoulos, D. & Van Zee, N. J. (Corresponding author), 8 Oct 2024, In: Macromolecules. 57, 19, p. 9030-9040 11 p. Functionalization of Supramolecular Polymers by Dynamic Covalent Boroxine Chemistry Preuss, M. D., Schnitzer, T., Jansen, S. A. H., Meskers, S. C. J., Kuster, T. H. R., Lou, X., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 10 Jun 2024, In: Angewandte Chemie. 136, 24, 9 p., e202402644. Functionalization of Supramolecular Polymers by Dynamic Covalent Boroxine Chemistry Preuss, M. D., Schnitzer, T., Jansen, S. A. H., Meskers, S. C. J., Kuster, T. H. R., Lou, X., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 10 Jun 2024, In: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. 63, 24, 9 p., e202402644. Long-Lived Triplets from Singlet Fission in Pentacene-Decorated Helical Supramolecular Polymers Lavarda, G. (Corresponding author), Sharma, A., Beslac, M., Jansen, S. A. H., Meskers, S. C. J., Friend, R. H., Rao, A. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 23 Oct 2024, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146, 42, p. 28985–28993 9 p. Mechanically strong yet metabolizable supramolecular plastics by desalting upon phase separation Cheng, Y., Hirano, E., Wang, H., Kuwayama, M., Meijer, E. W., Huang, H. (Corresponding author) & Aida, T. (Corresponding author), 22 Nov 2024, In: Science. 386, 6724, p. 875-881 7 p. Polaritonic chemistry enabled by non-local metasurfaces Verdelli, F., Wei, Y.-C., Joseph, K., Abdelkhalik, M. S., Goudarzi, M., Askes, S., Baldi, A., Meijer, E. W. & Gómez Rivas, J. (Corresponding author), 25 Nov 2024, In: Angewandte Chemie. 136, 48, 5 p., e202409528. Polaritonic Chemistry Enabled by Non-Local Metasurfaces Verdelli, F., Wei, Y. C., Joseph, K., Abdelkhalik, M. S., Goudarzi, M., Askes, S. H. C., Baldi, A., Meijer, E. W. & Gómez Rivas, J. (Corresponding author), 25 Nov 2024, In: Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. 63, 48, 5 p., e202409528. Self-assembled soft alloy with Frank–Kasper phases beyond metals Liu, X. Y., Yan, X. Y. (Corresponding author), Liu, Y., Qu, H., Wang, Y., Wang, J., Guo, Q. Y., Lei, H., Li, X. H., Bian, F., Cao, X. Y., Zhang, R., Wang, Y., Huang, M., Lin, Z., Meijer, E. W., Aida, T., Kong, X. (Corresponding author) & Cheng, S. Z. D. (Corresponding author), Apr 2024, In: Nature Materials. 23, 4, p. 570-576 7 p. Self-Assembly of Discrete Oligomers of Naphthalenediimides in Bulk and on Surfaces Corbet, C. H. W. A., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., de Waal, B. F. M., Reynaerts, R., Mali, K. S., De Feyter, S., Jonas, A. M., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 7 Feb 2024, In: Chemistry - A European Journal. 30, 8, 10 p., e202303107. Self-assembly of supramolecular monomers into 2D twinned crystals on mica surface Weyandt, E., Ruggeri, F. S., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 15 May 2024, In: Journal of Polymer Science. 62, 10, p. 2208-2214 7 p. Supramolecular Polymer Additives as Repairable Reinforcements for Dynamic Covalent Networks van der Tol, J. J. B., Hafeez, S., Bänziger, A. P. G., Su, H., Heuts, J. P. A., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 5 Dec 2024, In: Advanced Materials. 36, 49, 7 p., 2410723. Supramolecular polymerization and bulk properties relationship in ester-functionalized N-annulated perylenediimides López-Gandul, L., Lavarda, G., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., Vantomme, G., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & Sánchez, L. (Corresponding author), 14 Sept 2024, In: Chemical Science. 15, 34, p. 14037-14043 7 p. Supramolecular Polymerization as a Tool to Reveal the Magnetic Transition Dipole Moment of Heptazines Xu, F., Su, H., van der Tol, J. J. B., Jansen, S. A. H., Fu, Y., Lavarda, G., Vantomme, G., Meskers, S. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 12 Jun 2024, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146, 23, p. 15843-15849 7 p. Supramolecular Polymerization of Hydrogen-Bonded Trimers in Bulk and Aqueous Medium de Graaf, F. V., Jansen, S. A. H., Schoenmakers, S. M. C., van Genabeek, B., Vleugels, M. E. J., van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), Jun 2024, In: CCS Chemistry. 6, 6, p. 1458-1465 8 p. Supramolecular polymers form tactoids through liquid–liquid phase separation Fu, H. (Corresponding author), Huang, J., van der Tol, J. J. B., Su, L., Wang, Y., Dey, S., Zijlstra, P., Fytas, G., Vantomme, G., Dankers, P. Y. W. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 29 Feb 2024, In: Nature. 626, 8001, p. 1011-1018 8 p. Synergy in the copolymerization of non-ionic and anionic biphenyl tetracarboxamides: mix and match Iseki, T., Schoenmakers, S. M. C., Morgese, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), Mar 2024, In: Chemistry Letters. 53, 3 Trade-off between processability and device performance in donor-acceptor semiconductors revealed using discrete siloxane side chains van den Bersselaar, B. W. L., Cattenstart, E. H. W., Elangovan, K. E., Yen-Chi, C., de Waal, B. F. M., van der Tol, J., Diao, Y., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 14 May 2024, In: Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 12, 18, p. 6637-6644 8 p. Tunable emission from H-type supramolecular polymers in optical nanocavities Lavarda, G. (Corresponding author), Berghuis, A. M., Joseph, K., van der Tol, J. J. B., Murai, S., Gómez Rivas, J. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 11 Mar 2024, In: Chemical Communications. 60, 20, p. 2812-2815 4 p. Visualizing the Heterogeneity in Homogeneous Supramolecular Polymers Archontakis, E., Dhiman, S., Zhang, M., Vleugels, M. E. J., Meijer, E. W., Palmans, A. R. A., Zijlstra, P. (Corresponding author) & Albertazzi, L. (Corresponding author), 24 Jul 2024, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 146, 29, p. 19974-19985 12 p. Controlling Helical Asymmetry in Supramolecular Copolymers by In Situ Chemical Modification de Graaf, F. V., Jansen, S. A. H., Schnitzer, T., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 5 Jul 2023, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145, 26, p. 14379-14386 8 p. Ferro- and ferrielectricity and negative piezoelectricity in thioamide-based supramolecular organic discotics Urbanaviciute, I., Garcia-Iglesias, M., Gorbunov, A., Meijer, E. W. & Kemerink, M. (Corresponding author), 7 Jul 2023, In: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 25, 25, p. 16930-16937 8 p. Hapten/Myristoyl Functionalized Poly(propyleneimine) Dendrimers as Potent Cell Surface Recruiters of Antibodies for Mediating Innate Immune Killing Uvyn, A., Vleugels, M. E. J., de Waal, B., Hamouda, A. E. I., Dhiman, S., Louage, B., Albertazzi, L., Laoui, D., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & De Geest, B. G. (Corresponding author), 23 Nov 2023, In: Advanced Materials. 35, 47, 8 p., 2303909. Highly Ordered Supramolecular Materials of Phase-Separated Block Molecules for Long-Range Exciton Transport van Son, M. H. C., Berghuis, A. M., de Waal, B. F. M., Wenzel, F. A., Kreger, K., Schmidt, H.-W., Gómez Rivas, J., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 22 Jun 2023, In: Advanced Materials. 35, 25, 7 p., 2300891. Importance of Molecular and Bulk Dynamics in Supramolecular Hydrogels in Dictating Cellular Spreading Rijns, L., Peeters, J. W., Hendrikse, S. I. S., Vleugels, M. E. J., Lou, X., Janssen, H. M., Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author) & Dankers, P. Y. W. (Corresponding author), 10 Oct 2023, In: Chemistry of Materials. 35, 19, p. 8203-8217 15 p. Mixing discrete block co-oligomers: When does it behave like a disperse sample? Lamers, B. A. G., Fors, B. P. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 15 May 2023, In: Journal of Polymer Science. 61, 10, p. 929-936 8 p. Pathway Complexity in Nanotubular Supramolecular Polymerization: Metal-Organic Nanotubes with a Planar-Chiral Monomer Zhao, Y., Kawano, H., Yamagishi, H. (Corresponding author), Otake, S., Itoh, Y., Huang, H., Meijer, E. W. & Aida, T. (Corresponding author), 28 Jun 2023, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145, 25, p. 13920-13928 9 p. Photoswitchable Liquid-to-Solid Transition of Azobenzene-Decorated Polysiloxanes van der Tol, J. J. B., Engels, T. A. P., Cardinaels, R., Vantomme, G., Meijer, E. W. & Eisenreich, F. (Corresponding author), 5 Sept 2023, In: Advanced Functional Materials. 33, 36, 7 p., 2301246. Repeated shear startup response of a supramolecular polymer Vereroudakis, E., van Zee, N., Meijer, E. W. & Vlassopoulos, D. (Corresponding author), May 2023, In: Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics. 315, 105021. Simulating Assembly Landscapes for Comprehensive Understanding of Supramolecular Polymer-Solvent Systems Jansen, S. A. H., Weyandt, E., Aoki, T., Akiyama, T., Itoh, Y., Vantomme, G., Aida, T. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 22 Feb 2023, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145, 7, p. 4231-4237 7 p. Solvent-Induced Pathway Complexity of Supramolecular Polymerization Unveiled Using the Hansen Solubility Parameters van der Tol, J. J. B., Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author) & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 16 Aug 2023, In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. 145, 32, p. 17987-17994 8 p. Temperature Directs the Majority-Rules Principle in Supramolecular Copolymers Driven by Triazine–Benzene Interactions Jansen, S. A. H., Su, H., Schnitzer, T., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 21 Sept 2023, In: Chemistry - A European Journal. 29, 53, 7 p., e202301726. Unusual Photophysical Properties of Porphyrin-Based Supramolecular Polymers Unveiled: The Role of Metal Ligands and Side Group Amide Connectivity Touloupas, I., Weyandt, E., Meijer, E. W. & Hildner, R. (Corresponding author), 7 Dec 2023, In: Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 127, 48, p. 23323-23331 9 p. Charge transport in liquid crystal network of terthiophene-siloxane block molecules Sakaino, H., Meskers, S. C. J., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), 28 Nov 2022, In: Chemical Communications, ChemComm. 58, 92, p. 12819-12822 4 p. Competition between Circularly Polarized Light and Molecular Chirality in the Assembly of Main-chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers Sakaino, H., Meskers, S. C. J., Meijer, E. W. & Vantomme, G. (Corresponding author), Jul 2022, In: Chemistry Letters. 51, 7, p. 713-715 3 p. Controlling the length of porphyrin supramolecular polymers via coupled equilibria and dilution-induced supramolecular polymerization Weyandt, E., Leanza, L., Capelli, R., Pavan, G. M., Vantomme, G. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 11 Jan 2022, In: Nature Communications. 13, 1, p. 1-9 9 p., 248. Controlling the Processability and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers Using the Interplay of Intra- and Intermolecular Interactions van der Tol, J. J. B., Vantomme, G., Palmans, A. R. A. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 9 Aug 2022, In: Macromolecules. 55, 15, p. 6820-6829 10 p. Dilution-induced gel-sol-gel-sol transitions by competitive supramolecular pathways in water Su, L., Mosquera, J., Mabesoone, M. F. J., Schoenmakers, S. M. C., Muller, C., Vleugels, M. E. J., Dhiman, S., Wijker, S., Palmans, A. R. A. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 8 Jul 2022, In: Science. 377, 6602, p. 213-218 6 p. Expanding quasiperiodicity in soft matter: Supramolecular decagonal quasicrystals by binary giant molecule blends Liu, Y., Liu, T., Yan, X. Y., Guo, Q. Y., Lei, H., Huang, Z., Zhang, R., Wang, Y., Wang, J., Liu, F., Bian, F. G., Meijer, E. W., Aida, T., Huang, M. (Corresponding author) & Cheng, S. Z. D. (Corresponding author), 18 Jan 2022, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). 119, 3, 6 p., e2115304119. Helical bias in supramolecular polymers accounts for different stabilities of kinetically trapped states Ślęczkowski, M. L., Mabesoone, M. F. J., Preuss, M. D., Post, Y., Palmans, A. R. A. & Meijer, E. W. (Corresponding author), 15 Jun 2022, In: Journal of Polymer Science. 60, 12, p. 1871-1877 7 p.