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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

Characterization of full-length p53 aggregates and their kinetics of formation
L Julian, JC Sang, Y Wu, G Meisl, JH Brelstaff, A Miller, MR Cheetham, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, FS Ruggeri, C Bryant, S Ros, KM Brindle, D Klenerman
– Biophysical journal
(2022)
121,
4280
(doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.10.013)
Intracellular FUS protein accumulation leads to cytoskeletal, organelle and cellular homeostasis perturbations
CW Chung, A Zhou, I Mela, A Stephens, A Miyashita, P St George-Hyslop, C Kaminski, T Knowles, G Kaminski Schierle
(2022)
(doi: 10.1101/2022.10.04.510756)
Hydrodynamics of Droplet Sorting in Asymmetric Acute Junctions.
H Yang, TPJ Knowles
– Micromachines
(2022)
13,
1640
(doi: 10.3390/mi13101640)
Influence of denaturants on amyloid β42 aggregation kinetics.
T Weiffert, G Meisl, S Curk, R Cukalevski, A Šarić, TPJ Knowles, S Linse
– Frontiers in Neuroscience
(2022)
16,
943355
(doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.943355)
Small soluble α-synuclein aggregates are the toxic species in Parkinson’s disease
D Emin, YP Zhang, E Lobanova, A Miller, X Li, Z Xia, H Dakin, DI Sideris, JYL Lam, RT Ranasinghe, A Kouli, Y Zhao, S De, TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo, FS Ruggeri, FI Aigbirhio, CH Williams-Gray, D Klenerman
– Nature Communications
(2022)
13,
5512
(doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33252-6)
Small soluble a-synuclein aggregates are the toxic species in Parkinson’s disease
D Emin, YP Zhang, E Lobanova, A Miller, X Li, Z Xia, H Dakin, DI Sideris, JYL Lam, RT Ranasinghe, A Kouli, Y Zhao, S De, TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo, FS Ruggeri, FI Aigbirhio, CH Williams-Gray, D Klenerman
– Nature Communications
(2022)
13,
5512
(doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33252-6)
A chip-based supersonic microfluidic nebulizer for efficient sample introduction into inductively coupled plasma- Mass spectrometry
E Mavrakis, Z Toprakcioglu, N Lydakis-Simantiris, TPJ Knowles, SA Pergantis
– Analytica Chimica Acta
(2022)
1229,
340342
(doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2022.340342)
Analytical Solution to the Flory-Huggins Model.
D Qian, TCT Michaels, TPJ Knowles
– Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
(2022)
13,
7853
(doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01986)
Uncovering the universality of self-replication in protein aggregation and its link to disease.
G Meisl, CK Xu, JD Taylor, TCT Michaels, A Levin, D Otzen, D Klenerman, S Matthews, S Linse, M Andreasen, TPJ Knowles
– Science advances
(2022)
8,
eabn6831
(doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abn6831)
A conformational switch controlling the toxicity of the prion protein
K Frontzek, M Bardelli, A Senatore, A Henzi, RR Reimann, S Bedir, M Marino, R Hussain, S Jurt, G Meisl, M Pedotti, F Mazzola, G Siligardi, O Zerbe, M Losa, T Knowles, A Lakkaraju, C Zhu, P Schwarz, S Hornemann, MG Holt, L Simonelli, L Varani, A Aguzzi
– Nat Struct Mol Biol
(2022)
29,
831
(doi: 10.1038/s41594-022-00814-7)
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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