Research

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.