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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

The amyloid state and its association with protein misfolding diseases
TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
(2014)
15,
496
(doi: 10.1038/nrm3826)
Self-assembly of amyloid fibrils that display active enzymes
X-M Zhou, A Entwistle, H Zhang, AP Jackson, TO Mason, U Shimanovich, TPJ Knowles, AT Smith, EB Sawyer, S Perrett
– ChemCatChem
(2014)
6,
1961
(doi: 10.1002/cctc.201402125)
Self‐Assembly of Amyloid Fibrils That Display Active Enzymes
XM Zhou, A Entwistle, H Zhang, AP Jackson, TO Mason, U Shimanovich, TPJ Knowles, AT Smith, EB Sawyer, S Perrett
– Chemcatchem
(2014)
6,
1961
(doi: 10.1002/cctc.201402125)
Role of filament annealing in the kinetics and thermodynamics of nucleated polymerization.
TCT Michaels, TPJ Knowles
– The Journal of chemical physics
(2014)
140,
214904
(doi: 10.1063/1.4880121)
The amyloid state and its association with protein misfolding diseases
TPJ Knowles, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
(2014)
15,
384
(doi: 10.1038/nrm3810)
Asymptotic solutions of the Oosawa model for the length distribution of biofilaments
TCT Michaels, GA Garcia, TPJ Knowles
– Journal of Chemical Physics
(2014)
140,
194906
(doi: 10.1063/1.4875897)
Solution conditions determine the relative importance of nucleation and growth processes in α-synuclein aggregation.
AK Buell, C Galvagnion, R Gaspar, E Sparr, M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, S Linse, CM Dobson
– Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
(2014)
111,
7671
(doi: 10.1073/pnas.1315346111)
Mean-field master equation formalism for biofilament growth
TCT Michaels, TPJ Knowles
– American Journal of Physics
(2014)
82,
476
(doi: 10.1119/1.4870004)
ChemInform Abstract: Protein Micro‐ and Nano‐Capsules for Biomedical Applications
U Shimanovich, GJL Bernardes, TPJ Knowles, A Cavaco‐Paulo
– ChemInform
(2014)
45,
no
(doi: 10.1002/chin.201418286)
Density-gradient-free microfluidic centrifugation for analytical and preparative separation of nanoparticles.
P Arosio, T Müller, L Mahadevan, TPJ Knowles
– Nano Lett
(2014)
14,
2365
(doi: 10.1021/nl404771g)
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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