Holland High Tech funding for detection and identification of chemical unknowns

A project run by a consortium consisting of HFML-FELIX and Synvenio B.V., is one of seven innovative ideas that received support in the latest Holland High Tech funding round. Holland High Tech stimulates innovation by awarding funds for research in the form of public-private partnership projects.

The project, run by HFML-FELIX researcher Jonathan Martens and titled ‘Accelerating Molecular Identification with Advanced Infrared Ion Spectroscopy’, will focus on the ultra-sensitive detection and identification of chemical unknowns.

This is critical for several sectors, including clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, and environmental monitoring. Current state-of-the-art methodologies rely on often unavailable chemical standards, creating challenges, delays, and increased costs.

Advanced Analytical Platform

This project integrates a variety of techniques – IR-spectroscopy, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and machine learning – to accelerate molecular identification, enhancing industrial and scientific analyses.

The aim of the collaborative project between HFML-FELIX and Synvenio B.V. is to develop a next-generation analytical platform, combining liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) with Free Electron Laser-based infrared ion spectroscopy (FEL-IRIS). The FEL-IRIS method uniquely identifies unknown molecules without relying on chemical standards, overcoming major bottlenecks.

Synvenio B.V. will synthesize these newly identified compounds as standards, enabling identification in a much broader range of routine analytical laboratories. Enhanced hardware coupling and advanced machine learning algorithms will accelerate identification processes.

Impact and Applications

The project targets critical sectors like clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, and environmental monitoring, significantly improving sensitivity, speed, and accuracy in molecular analysis. The developed platform will strengthen the Dutch analytical sciences, establish national and international research collaborations, and support sustainable research practices through optimized analytical efficiency. The technologies developed here will be deployed in an experimental user-station at the institute HFML-FELIX for broad industry and academic usage.

For more information: here you can find all funded projects.