Groups: Knowles group website
Telephone:
01223 763845 (shared)
01223 336344
E-mail: tpjk2@cam.ac.uk
.
We study the physical and chemical aspects of the behaviour of biopolymers and other soft systems. Much of our work has been focused on the physical aspects underlying the self-assembly of protein molecules. Self-organisation is the driving force generating complex matter in nature, and the process by which the machinery providing functionality in living systems is assembled. The goal of our research is to understand the physical and chemical factors which control the structures and dynamics of biomolecular assemblies, and the connections between the nanoscale characteristics of the component molecules and the physical properties of large-scale assemblies and their behaviour on a mesoscopic to macroscopic scale. The techniques used in our laboratory include biosensors, optical lithography, microfluidic devices and scanning probe microscopy and spectroscopy. We work both with natural and synthetic polymers and our interests range from fundamental chemical physics to technological applications in material science and molecular medicine.
An analytical solution to the kinetics of breakable filament assembly, Science, 326, 1533 (2009)
Role of intermolecular forces in defining material properties of protein nanofibrils, Science 318, 1900 (2007)
.
.
.
.
.