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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

Fluctuations in water, the hydrophobic effect and self-assembly
PS Varilly, AJ Patel, SN Jamadagni, H Acharya, MF Hagan, S Garde, D Chandler, TPJ Knowles, D Frenkel
– ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2012)
244,
(link to publication)
Protein solubility and protein homeostasis: A generic view of protein misfolding disorders
M Vendruscolo, TPJ Knowles, CM Dobson
– Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology
(2011)
3,
(doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a010454)
Probing small molecule binding to amyloid fibrils
AK Buell, EK Esbjörner, PJ Riss, DA White, FI Aigbirhio, G Toth, ME Welland, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
(2011)
13,
20044
(doi: 10.1039/c1cp22283j)
Inversion of the Balance between Hydrophobic and Hydrogen Bonding Interactions in Protein Folding and Aggregation
AW Fitzpatrick, TPJ Knowles, CA Waudby, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– PLoS Computational Biology
(2011)
7,
e1002169
(doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002169)
Binding of the molecular chaperone αB-crystallin to Aβ amyloid fibrils inhibits fibril elongation.
SL Shammas, CA Waudby, S Wang, AK Buell, TPJ Knowles, H Ecroyd, ME Welland, JA Carver, CM Dobson, S Meehan
– Biophysical Journal
(2011)
101,
1681
(doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2011.07.056)
Nucleated Polymerisation in the Presence of Pre-Formed Seed Filaments
SIA Cohen, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– International Journal of Molecular Sciences
(2011)
12,
5844
(doi: 10.3390/ijms12095844)
Nucleated Polymerisation in the Presence of Pre-Formed Seed Filaments
SIA Cohen, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– International Journal of Molecular Sciences
(2011)
12,
5844
(doi: 10.3390/ijms12095844)
Observation of spatial propagation of amyloid assembly from single nuclei
TPJ Knowles, DA White, AR Abate, JJ Agresti, SIA Cohen, RA Sperling, EJ De Genst, CM Dobson, DA Weitz
– Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(2011)
108,
14746
(doi: 10.1073/pnas.1105555108)
Metastability of Native Proteins and the Phenomenon of Amyloid Formation
AJ Baldwin, TPJ Knowles, GG Tartaglia, AW Fitzpatrick, GL Devlin, SL Shammas, CA Waudby, MF Mossuto, S Meehan, SL Gras, J Christodoulou, SJ Anthony-Cahill, PD Barker, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson
– Journal of the American Chemical Society
(2011)
133,
14160
(doi: 10.1021/ja2017703)
Nucleated polymerization with secondary pathways. III. Equilibrium behavior and oligomer populations
SIA Cohen, M Vendruscolo, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
– J Chem Phys
(2011)
135,
065107
(doi: 10.1063/1.3608918)
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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