Many biomolecules act as molecular machines and have a precise mechanism. Understanding how biomolecules work in detail could bring great advances in medicine and other biotechnologies.
We use advanced magnetic resonance approaches to identify and characterise weak molecular interactions. The aim of this project is to combine both Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques to study such interactions.
Certain bacteria have a natural ability to exchange electrons between their internal and external environments. This behavior allows coupling of catalytic transformations inside the bacteria to complementary redox transformations of catalysts and electrodes outside the cell.
Pathogens such as Campylobacter jejuni can live in anaerobic environments through their ability to use tetrathionate, rather than oxygen, as a respiratory substrate.
Almost all living organisms sense and respond to light. Understanding how this works is important in areas as diverse as crop development and quantum biology.
Synthesis of new DNA binding compounds to target genetic diseases such as cancer and diabetes. It is often assumed that DNA exists only as the iconic Watson-Crick double helix but it can actually adopt many different types of structure depending on the sequence and environmental conditions.