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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

Shear-mediated sol-gel transition of regenerated silk allows the formation of Janus-like microgels.
Z Toprakcioglu, TPJ Knowles
– Scientific reports
(2021)
11,
6673
(doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85199-1)
Comparative Studies in the A30P and A53T α-Synuclein C. elegans Strains to Investigate the Molecular Origins of Parkinson's Disease
M Perni, A van der Goot, R Limbocker, TJ van Ham, FA Aprile, CK Xu, P Flagmeier, K Thijssen, P Sormanni, G Fusco, SW Chen, PK Challa, JB Kirkegaard, RF Laine, KY Ma, MBD Müller, T Sinnige, JR Kumita, SIA Cohen, R Seinstra, GS Kaminski Schierle, CF Kaminski, D Barbut, A De Simone, TPJ Knowles, M Zasloff, EAA Nollen, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– Front Cell Dev Biol
(2021)
9,
552549
(doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.552549)
Kinetic analysis reveals that independent nucleation events determine the progression of polyglutamine aggregation in C. elegans
T Sinnige, G Meisl, TCT Michaels, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, RI Morimoto
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
(2021)
118,
e2021888118
(doi: 10.1073/pnas.2021888118)
Supramolecular Peptide Nanofibrils with Optimized Sequences and Molecular Structures for Efficient Retroviral Transduction
S Sieste, T Mack, E Lump, M Hayn, D Schütz, A Röcker, C Meier, K Kaygisiz, F Kirchhoff, TPJ Knowles, FS Ruggeri, CV Synatschke, J Münch, T Weil
– Advanced Functional Materials
(2021)
31,
2009382
(doi: 10.1002/adfm.202009382)
Reentrant liquid condensate phase of proteins is stabilized by hydrophobic and non-ionic interactions
G Krainer, TJ Welsh, JA Joseph, JR Espinosa, S Wittmann, E de Csilléry, A Sridhar, Z Toprakcioglu, G Gudiškytė, MA Czekalska, WE Arter, J Guillén-Boixet, TM Franzmann, S Qamar, PS George-Hyslop, AA Hyman, R Collepardo-Guevara, S Alberti, TPJ Knowles
– Nat Commun
(2021)
12,
1085
(doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21181-9)
Shear-Mediated Sol-Gel Transition of Regenerated Silk Allows the Formation of Janus-like Microgels
Z Toprakcioglu, T Knowles
(2021)
(doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv.13909250.v1)
Shear-Mediated Sol-Gel Transition of Regenerated Silk Allows the Formation of Janus-like Microgels
Z Toprakcioglu, T Knowles
(2021)
(doi: 10.26434/chemrxiv.13909250)
One-Step Generation of Multisomes from Lipid-Stabilized Double Emulsions.
MA Czekalska, AMJ Jacobs, Z Toprakcioglu, L Kong, KN Baumann, H Gang, G Zubaite, R Ye, B Mu, A Levin, WTS Huck, TPJ Knowles
– ACS applied materials & interfaces
(2021)
13,
6739
(doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c16019)
Direct Digital Sensing of Proteins in Solution through Single-Molecule Optofluidics
G Krainer, KL Saar, WE Arter, TPJ Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2021)
120,
114A
(doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.11.2269)
Reentrant Liquid Condensate Phase of Proteins is Stabilized by Hydrophobic and Non-Ionic interactions
G Krainer, TJ Welsh, JA Joseph, P St George-Hyslop, AA Hyman, R Collepardo-Guevara, S Alberti, TPJ Knowles
– Biophysical Journal
(2021)
120,
28a
(doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.11.426)
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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