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

On-chip measurements of protein unfolding from direct observations of micron-scale diffusion.
Y Zhang, EV Yates, L Hong, KL Saar, G Meisl, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
Chemical Science
(2018)
9
Stochastic calculus of protein filament formation under spatial confinement
TCT Michaels, AJ Dear, TPJ Knowles
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS
(2018)
20
Enhancing power density of biophotovoltaics by decoupling storage and power delivery
KL Saar, P Bombelli, DJ Lea-Smith, T Call, EM Aro, T Müller, CJ Howe, TPJ Knowles
Nature Energy
(2018)
3
Microfluidic approaches for probing amyloid assembly and behaviour
TW Herling, A Levin, KL Saar, CM Dobson, TPJ Knowles
Lab on A Chip
(2018)
18
Kinetic barriers to α-synuclein protofilament formation and conversion into mature fibrils.
JWP Brown, G Meisl, TPJ Knowles, AK Buell, CM Dobson, C Galvagnion
Chemical Communications
(2018)
54
Microfluidic Diffusional Sizing Enables Characterisation of Protein-Protein Interactions Under Native Conditions
S Devenish, C Thorne, T Scheidt, J Carozza, P Arosio, Y Zhang, A Buell, T Mueller, A Lynn, J Faherty, M Wright, M Butz, T Knowles
PROTEIN SCIENCE
(2018)
27
On-Chip Measurements of Membrane Protein Interactions
Y Zhang, T Knowles, S Linse
PROTEIN SCIENCE
(2018)
27
Observation of molecular self-assembly events in massively parallel microdroplet arrays
Z Toprakcioglu, PK Challa, A Levin, TPJ Knowles
Lab on a Chip
(2018)
18
Microfluidics for Protein Biophysics.
J Charmet, P Arosio, TPJ Knowles
J Mol Biol
(2017)
430
Enhanced Quality Factor Label-free Biosensing with Micro-Cantilevers Integrated into Microfluidic Systems
T Kartanas, V Ostanin, PK Challa, R Daly, J Charmet, TPJ Knowles
Analytical Chemistry
(2017)
89

Co-Director

Research Interest Groups

Telephone number

01223 336344

Email address