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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

Combining Single-Molecule Techniques with Microfluidics for Protein Analysis
C Taylor, T Knowles, D Klenerman
– Biophysical Journal
(2016)
110,
195a
(doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2015.11.1086)
Hamiltonian Dynamics of Protein Filament Formation
TCT Michaels, SIA Cohen, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– Physical review letters
(2016)
116,
038101
(doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.038101)
Quantitative analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the aggregation mechanism of Alzheimer-associated Aβ-peptide.
G Meisl, X Yang, B Frohm, TPJ Knowles, S Linse
– Scientific Reports
(2016)
6,
18728
(doi: 10.1038/srep18728)
Molecular mechanisms of protein aggregation from global fitting of kinetic models
G Meisl, JB Kirkegaard, P Arosio, TCT Michaels, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, S Linse, TPJ Knowles
– Nature protocols
(2016)
11,
252
(doi: 10.1038/nprot.2016.010)
Microfluidic devices fabricated using soft lithography for the study of protein structures using synchrotron radiation circular dichroism
J Charmet, C Bortolini, D Copic, IC Morales, Y Zhang, PK Challa, T Jávorfi, R Hussain, G Siligardi, TPJ Knowles
– 20th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, MicroTAS 2016
(2016)
1079
A kinetic model of the aggregation of α-synuclein provides insights into prion-like spreading
M Iljina, G Garcia, MH Horrocks, L Tosatto, M Choi, S Gandhi, T Knowles, D Klenerman
– PRION
(2016)
10,
S63
(link to publication)
Microfluidic diffusion analysis of the sizes and interactions of proteins under native solution conditions
P Arosio, T Müller, L Rajah, EV Yates, FA Aprile, Y Zhang, SIA Cohen, DA White, TW Herling, EJ De Genst, S Linse, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– ACS Nano
(2015)
10,
333
(doi: 10.1021/acsnano.5b04713)
Consistent treatment of hydrophobicity in protein lattice models accounts for cold denaturation
E van Dijk, P Varilly, T Knowles, D Frenkel, S Abeln
(2015)
(doi: 10.48550/arxiv.1511.06590)
Single-molecule FRET studies on alpha-synuclein oligomerization of Parkinson's disease genetically related mutants
L Tosatto, MH Horrocks, AJ Dear, TPJ Knowles, M Dalla Serra, N Cremades, CM Dobson, D Klenerman
– Scientific Reports
(2015)
5,
16696
(doi: 10.1038/srep16696)
N‑Terminal Extensions Retard Aβ42 Fibril Formation but Allow Cross-Seeding and Coaggregation with Aβ42
O Szczepankiewicz, B Linse, G Meisl, E Thulin, B Frohm, C Sala Frigerio, MT Colvin, AC Jacavone, RG Griffin, T Knowles, DM Walsh, S Linse
– J Am Chem Soc
(2015)
137,
14673
(doi: 10.1021/jacs.5b07849)
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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