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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

Biomolecular condensates undergo a generic shear-mediated liquid-to-solid transition
Y Shen, FS Ruggeri, D Vigolo, A Kamada, S Qamar, A Levin, C Iserman, S Alberti, PS George-Hyslop, TPJ Knowles
– Nature nanotechnology
(2020)
15,
841
(doi: 10.1038/s41565-020-0731-4)
A rationally designed bicyclic peptide remodels Aβ42 aggregation in vitro and reduces its toxicity in a worm model of Alzheimer's disease
T Ikenoue, FA Aprile, P Sormanni, FS Ruggeri, M Perni, GT Heller, CP Haas, C Middel, R Limbocker, B Mannini, TCT Michaels, TPJ Knowles, CM Dobson, M Vendruscolo
– Scientific Reports
(2020)
10,
15280
(doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69626-3)
Biomimetic peptide self-assembly for functional materials.
A Levin, TA Hakala, L Schnaider, GJL Bernardes, E Gazit, TPJ Knowles
– Nature Reviews Chemistry
(2020)
4,
615
(doi: 10.1038/s41570-020-0215-y)
Microfluidic Antibody Affinity Profiling for In-Solution Characterisation of Alloantibody - HLA Interactions in Human Serum
M Schneider, T Scheidt, A Priddey, C Xu, M Hu, S Devenish, G Meisl, C Dobson, V Kosmoliaptsis, T Knowles
– bioRxiv
(2020)
2020.09.14.296442
(doi: 10.1101/2020.09.14.296442)
Thermodynamic and kinetic design principles for amyloid-aggregation inhibitors
TCT Michaels, A Šarić, G Meisl, GT Heller, S Curk, P Arosio, S Linse, CM Dobson, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles
– Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2020)
117,
24251
(doi: 10.1073/pnas.2006684117)
Spatially-segmented single-cell transcriptomics by diffusional accessibility to a small-molecule dye
DB Morse, M Ceribelli, J De Jonghe, A Michalowski, C Muus, M Vias, S Boyle, DA Weitz, J Brenton, JD Buenrostro, C Thomas, TP Knowles
– Cancer Research
(2020)
80,
5879
(doi: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2020-5879)
Amelioration of aggregate cytotoxicity by catalytic conversion of protein oligomers into amyloid fibrils
J Yang, AJ Dear, Q-Q Yao, Z Liu, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles, S Wu, S Perrett
– Nanoscale
(2020)
12,
18663
(doi: 10.1039/d0nr01481h)
Kinetic analysis reveals the rates and mechanisms of protein aggregation in a multicellular organism
T Sinnige, G Meisl, T Michaels, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, R Morimoto
(2020)
2020.08.13.249862
(doi: 10.1101/2020.08.13.249862)
Microfluidic Templating: Microfluidic Templating of Spatially Inhomogeneous Protein Microgels (Small 32/2020)
Y Xu, RPB Jacquat, Y Shen, D Vigolo, D Morse, S Zhang, TPJ Knowles
– Small
(2020)
16,
2070178
(doi: 10.1002/smll.202070178)
Trodusquemine displaces protein misfolded oligomers from cell membranes and abrogates their cytotoxicity through a generic mechanism.
R Limbocker, B Mannini, FS Ruggeri, R Cascella, CK Xu, M Perni, S Chia, SW Chen, J Habchi, A Bigi, RP Kreiser, AK Wright, JA Albright, T Kartanas, JR Kumita, N Cremades, M Zasloff, C Cecchi, TPJ Knowles, F Chiti, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– Communications Biology
(2020)
3,
435
(doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01140-8)
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Research Groups

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address

tpjk2@cam.ac.uk

College

St John's College

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    About the University

    Research at Cambridge