Dave Evans

Project Leader

Biological Chemistry

Contact details

dave.evans@jic.ac.uk

Research interests

Background
Originally working with the BBSRC Nitrogen Fixation Laboratory, I have an established international reputation in the field of bioinorganic chemistry; especially the synthesis and characterisation of chemical models of the metal containing active sites of environmentally important enzymes such as the nitrogenases, hydrogenases, carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and acetyl-CoA synthase.

Bionanoscience
Recently, I have developed a research programme, in collaboration with George Lomonossoff, in an area of bionanoscience that utilises plant viruses as nanobuilding blocks/nanoscaffolds/nanotemplates. The programme in this exciting, developing, multidisciplinary field sits at the interface of biology, chemistry, materials science and medicine. Biological nanoscience/technology is concerned with well-defined structures with dimensions of 1-100 nm. Nanotechnology allows the fabrication of a range of materials and devices including nanoelectronics, biosensors, and drug delivery devices.

Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) particles are 28 nm diameter icosahedra with well characterised physical, genetic and biological properties. Site-directed mutagenesis can be readily performed to modify the capsid surface. The properties of CPMV make it a natural, robust, nanoscale building block for use in nanotechnology. We have shown that inorganic, organometallic and organic moieties can be chemically linked to the virus surface and that the virus particles can be assembled into two- and three-dimensional arrays on solid supports in a controlled fashion. In addition, the mineralisation of the virion external surface, using virus chimaera technology, and internal cavity, utilising capsids devoid of RNA, is being assessed as a means to generate monodisperse, nanospheres and nanoparticles with unique properties. Ultimately, such systems will be developed for applications in signal amplification, biological assays, biosensing and biomedicine.

Selected Publications

Aljabali A. A. A., Barclay J. E., Cespedes O., Rashid A., Staniland S. S., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2011)
Charge modified Cowpea mosaic virus particles for templated mineralization
Advanced Functional Materials 21 (21) 4137-4142

Aljabali A. A. A., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2011)
CPMV-polyelectrolyte-templated gold nanoparticles
Biomacromolecules 12 (7) 2723-2728

Aljabali A. A. A., Shah S. N., Evans-Gowing R., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2011)
Chemically-coupled-peptide promoted virus nanoparticle templated mineralization.
Integrative Biology 3 (2) 119-125
DOI:10.1039/COIB00056F

Aljabali A. A. A., Barclay J. E., Butt J. N., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2010)
Redox-active ferrocene-modified Cowpea mosaic virus nanoparticles.
Dalton Transactions 39 (32) 7569-7574

Aljabali A. A. A., Barclay J. E., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2010)
Virus templated metallic nanoparticles
Nanoscale 2 (12) 2596-2600

Aljabali A. A. A., Sainsbury F., Lomonossoff G., Evans D. J. (2010)
Cowpea mosaic virus unmodified empty viruslike particles can be loaded with metal and metal oxide.
Small 6 (7) 818-821
DOI:10.1002/smll.200902135

Shah S. N., Steinmetz N. F., Aljabali A. A. A., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2009)
Environmentally benign synthesis of virus-templated, monodisperse, iron-platinum nanoparticles.
Dalton Transactions Part 40 8479-8480
DOI:10.1039/b906847c

Steinmetz N. F., Shah S. N., Barclay J. E., Rallapalli G., Lomonossoff G. P., Evans D. J. (2009)
Virus-templated silica nanoparticles
Small 5 (7) 813-816
DOI:10.1002/smll.200801348

Steinmetz N. F., Bize A., Findlay K. C., Lomonossoff G. P., Manchester M., Evans D. J., Prangishvili D. (2008)
Site-specific and spatially controlled addressability of a new viral nanobuilding block: Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2
Advanced Functional Materials 18 3478-3486
DOI:10.1002/adfm.200800711

Recent Publications

Garbelini E. R., Martin M. M. B., Back D. F., Evans D. J., Muller-Santos M., Ribeiro R. R., Nunes F. S. (2012)
Synthesis, characterization and chemical properties of 1-((E)-2-pyridinylmethylidene)semicarbazone manganese(II) and iron(II) complexes.
Journal of Molecular Structure 1008 35-41
DOI:10.1016/j.molstruct.2011.11.016

Piga F., Moro F., Krivokapic I., Blake A. J., Edge R., McInnes E. J. L., Evans D. J., McMaster J., Slageren J. V. (2012)
Magnetic properties of a novel family of ferrous cubanes
Chemical Communications 48 2430-2432
DOI:10.1039/c2cc16853g

Jayasooriya U. A., Peck J. N. T., Barclay J. E., Hardy S. M., Chumakov A. I., Evans D. J., Pickett C. J., Oganesyan V. S. (2011)
Nuclear inelastic scattering spectroscopy of tris(acetylacetonate)iron(III); a vibrational prove via the iron atom.
Chemical Physics Letters 518 119-123

Li L., Clarkson G. J., Evans D. J., Lees M. R., Turner S. S., Scott P. (2011)
Isomeric Fe(II) MOFs: from a diamond-framework spin-crossover material to a 2D hard magnet
Chemical Communications 47 (47) 12646-12648

Sainsbury F., Saunders K., Aljabali A. A. A., Evans D. J., Lomonossoff G. P. (2011)
Peptide-controlled access to the interior surface of empty virus nanoparticles
ChemBioChem 12 (16) 2435-2440

Samulewski R. B., da Rocha J. C., Stieler R., Lang E. S., Evans D. J., Poneti G., Nascimento O. R., Ribeiro R. R., Nunes F. S. (2011)
Supramolecular assembly of new heteropolymetalic molecules based on tetraiminodiphenolate macrocycle and hexacyanometallate anions: Magnetostructural and spectroscopic properties.
Polyhedron 30 (12) 1997-2006

Xiao Z., Wei Z., Long L., Wang Y., Evans D. J., Liu X. (2011)
Diiron carbonyl complexes possessing a {Fe(II)Fe(II)} core: synthesis, characterisation, and electrochemical investigation.
Dalton Transactions 40 (16) 4291-4299
DOI:10.1039/c0dt01465f

Zlatogorsky S., Muryn C. A., Tuna F., Evans D. J., Ingleson M. J. (2011)
Synthesis, structures, and reactivity of chelating bis-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of iron(II)
Organometallics 30 (18) 4974-4982

Bottini R. C. R., Gariani R. A., Cavalcanti C. O., Oliveira F., da Rocha N. L. G., Back D., Lang E. S., Hitchcock P. B., Evans D. J., Nunes G. G., Simonelli F., de Sa E. L., Soares J. F. (2010)
Redox processes involved in the synthesis and reactivity of oxazolinylthiopheolato complexes of iron(II)/(III)
European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry - (17) 2476-2487
DOI:10.1002/ejic.201000065

Evans D. J. (2010)
Bionanoscience at the plant virus-inorganic chemistry interface.
Inorganica Chimica Acta 363 (6) 1070-1076
DOI:10.1016/j.ica.2009.10.007

Ru X., Zeng X., Li Z., Evans D. J., Zhan C., Tang Y., Wang L., Liu X. (2010)
Bioinspired polymer functionalized with a diiron carbonyl model complex and its assembly onto the surface of a gold electrode via "click" chemistry.
Journal of Polymer Science: Part A: Polymer Chemistry 48 (11) 2410-2417
DOI:10.1002/pola.24010

Zhan C., Wang X., Wei Z., Evans D. J., Ru X., Zeng X., Liu X. (2010)
Synthesis and characterisation of polymeric materials consisting of {Fe₂(CO)₅}-unit and their relevance to the diiron sub-unit of [FeFe]-hydrogenase.
Dalton Transactions 39 (46) 11255-11262

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