skip to content
Home

Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 

Professor Tuomas Knowles

Professor of Physical Chemistry and Biophysics

1920 Professor of Physical Chemistry

Our research

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.

Watch Professor Knowles discuss his research

Take a tour of the Sir Rodney Sweetnam laboratory

Publications

Perphenazine-Macrocycle Conjugates Rapidly Sequester the Aβ42 Monomer and Prevent Formation of Toxic Oligomers and Amyloid.
SR Ball, JSP Adamson, MA Sullivan, MR Zimmermann, V Lo, M Sanz-Hernandez, X Jiang, AH Kwan, ADJ McKenzie, EL Werry, TPJ Knowles, M Kassiou, G Meisl, MH Todd, PJ Rutledge, M Sunde
– ACS chemical neuroscience
(2022)
14,
87
(doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00498)
Microfluidics for multiscale studies of biomolecular condensates
NA Erkamp, R Qi, TJ Welsh, TPJ Knowles
– Lab Chip
(2022)
23,
9
(doi: 10.1039/d2lc00622g)
Selenium Silk Nanostructured Films for Antifungal and Antibacterial Treatments
Z Toprakcioglu, E Wiita, A Jayaram, R Gregory, T Knowles
(2022)
(doi: 10.1101/2022.12.18.520325)
The Chromatin Regulator HMGA1a Undergoes Phase Separation in the Nucleus**
H Zhu, M Narita, JA Joseph, G Krainer, WE Arter, I Olan, KL Saar, N Ermann, JR Espinosa, Y Shen, MA Kuri, R Qi, TJ Welsh, R Collepardo-Guevara, M Narita, TPJ Knowles
– ChemBioChem
(2022)
24,
e202200450
(doi: 10.1002/cbic.202200450)
Core–Shell Spheroid-Laden Microgels Crosslinked under Biocompatible Conditions for Probing Cancer-Stromal Communication
H Zhu, LWY Roode, AJ Parry, NA Erkamp, M Rodriguez-Garcia, M Narita, Y Shen, Y Ou, Z Toprakcioglu, M Narita, TPJ Knowles
– Advanced NanoBiomed Research
(2022)
2,
2200138
(doi: 10.1002/anbr.202200138)
Serological fingerprints link antiviral activity of therapeutic antibodies to affinity and concentration.
S Fiedler, SRA Devenish, AS Morgunov, A Ilsley, F Ricci, M Emmenegger, V Kosmoliaptsis, ES Theel, JR Mills, AM Sholukh, A Aguzzi, A Iwasaki, AK Lynn, TPJ Knowles
– Scientific Reports
(2022)
12,
19791
(doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-22214-z)
Structure-Based Discovery of Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Autocatalytic Proliferation of α‑Synuclein Aggregates
S Chia, Z Faidon Brotzakis, RI Horne, A Possenti, B Mannini, R Cataldi, M Nowinska, R Staats, S Linse, TPJ Knowles, J Habchi, M Vendruscolo
– Molecular pharmaceutics
(2022)
20,
183
(doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00548)
Non-specificity as the sticky problem in therapeutic antibody development
H Ausserwöger, MM Schneider, TW Herling, P Arosio, G Invernizzi, TPJ Knowles, N Lorenzen
– Nature Reviews Chemistry
(2022)
6,
844
(doi: 10.1038/s41570-022-00438-x)
Microscale Diffusiophoresis of Proteins
QAE Peter, RPB Jacquat, TW Herling, PK Challa, T Kartanas, TPJ Knowles
– Journal of Physical Chemistry B
(2022)
126,
8913
(doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04029)
Multi-dimensional protein solubility optimization with an ultra-high-throughput microfluidic platform
N Erkamp, M Oeller, T Sneideris, H Ausserwӧger, A Levin, T Welsh, R Qi, D Qian, H Zhu, P Sormanni, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles
(2022)
(doi: 10.1101/2022.10.21.513267)
  • <
  • 14 of 68
  • >

Research Groups

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk

College

St John's College

    Study at Cambridge

    About the University

    Research at Cambridge