News

The end of reapplying sunscreen could be on the horizon after scientists found a molecule which can ‘dance’ away the harmful sunlight.

Plants stay safe from the Sun because they hold a molecule which absorbs ultraviolet light and uses the energy to shake at a speed of 100 billion twists per second, which expends the radiation before it can cause harm.

Scientists at the University of Warwick searched for a structure with similar properties and discovered that diethyl sinapate closely mimics the process when exposed to sunlight.

• The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is one of three highest priority pathogens identified by WHO (World Health Organisation) for which new antibiotics are urgently needed
• Understanding the enzymes that assemble antibiotics which can kill the pathogen is key to altering their structures to target the pathogen more effectively

Researchers at the University of Warwick have made a breakthrough in understanding the functions and structures of key enzymes in the assembly of an antibiotic with activity against the pathogen, which could enable more effective versions to be created

For the full article, see here.

Freezing cells made safer thanks to new polymer made at University of Warwick

- A new polymer that’s a cryoprotectant dramatically improves the freezing of cells has been discovered by researchers at the University of Warwick

- The new polymers can reduce the amount of organic solvent required in cryopreservation (freezing cells) as well as giving more and healthier cells after thawing

- Findings may help reduce cost and improve distribution of cells for cell-based therapies, diagnostics and research

Cell freezing (cryopreservation) – which is essential in cell transfusions as well as basic biomedical research – can be dramatically improved using a new polymeric cryoprotectant, discovered at the University of Warwick, which reduces the amount of ‘anti-freeze’ needed to protect cells.

The ability to freeze and store cells for cell-based therapies and research has taken a step forward in the paper ‘A synthetically scalable poly(ampholyte) which dramatically Enhances Cellular Cryopreservation.’ published by the University of Warwick’s Department of Chemistry and Medical School in the journal Biomacromolecules. The new polymer material protects the cells during freezing, leading to more cells being recovered and less solvent-based antifreeze being required.

Cryopreservation of cells is an essential process, enabling banking and distribution of cells, which would otherwise degrade. The current methods rely on adding traditional ‘antifreezes’ to the cells to protect them from the cold stress, but not all the cells are recovered and it is desirable to lower the amount of solvent added.

The new Warwick material was shown to allow cryopreservation using less solvent. In particular, the material was very potent at protecting cell monolayers – cells which are attached to a surface, which is the format of how they are grown and used in most biomedical research.

Having more, and better quality cells, is crucial not just for their use in medicine, but to improve the quality and accessibility of cells for the discovery of new drugs for example.

Cell-based therapies are emerging as the “fourth pillar” of chemo-therapy. New methods to help distribute and bank these cells will help make them more accessible and speed up their roll-out, and this new material may aid this process.

Professor Matthew Gibson who holds a joint appointment between the Department of Chemistry and Warwick Medical School comments:

“Cryopreservation is fundamental to so much modern bioscience and medicine, but we urgently need better methods to meet the needs of advanced cell-based therapies. Our new material is easy to scale up, which is essential if this is to be widely used, and we found it to be very protective for several cell lines. The simplicity of our approach will hopefully help us translate this to real applications quickly, and make an impact in healthcare and basic research.”

ENDS

29 JULY 2019

NOTES TO EDITORS

High-res image available at:

https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/july2019/mg_cells.jpg

Credit: University of Warwick. Caption: The cells frozen with the polymer (left) and without the polymer (right)

Paper available to view at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00681

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science
University of Warwick
Tel: +44 (0) 2476 574 255 or +44 (0) 7920 531 221
E-mail: alice.j.scott@warwick.ac.uk

For the full article, see here.

For job opportunity, see here.

An innovative way to pattern metals has been discovered which could make the next generation of solar panels more sustainable and cheaper.

Thanks to £1.15 M funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Dr Ross Hatton and Dr Silvia Varagnolo have discovered that silver and copper do not condense onto extremely thin films of certain highly fluorinated organic compounds when the metal is deposited by simple thermal evaporation.

See here for the full article

The dedication of Warwick Chemistry to provide a rich and inclusive learning environment has shone through in the 2019 NSS results which reveal a 96.6% satisfaction rate.

In testament to a student-focussed approach, the department has seen the highest Russell Group scores for availability of academic staff when needed, feeling part of a community, and other key measures such as receptiveness and responsiveness to student views and course feedback.

Head of Chemistry, Professor Mike Ward, commented:

“We are delighted that our students are so happy with their experience in this department, awarding us one of the top scores for overall student satisfaction in the Russell Group. We work hard – in partnership with the student body – to ensure that our students have the best possible learning opportunities and leave us ready for their future challenges.”

Full 2019 NSS results are available from the Office for Students.

The dedication of Warwick Chemistry to provide a rich and inclusive learning environment has shone through in the 2019 NSS results which reveal over 96% satisfaction.

In testament to a student-focussed approach, the department has seen the highest Russell Group scores for availability of academic staff when needed, feeling part of a community, and other key measures such as receptiveness and responsiveness to student views and course feedback.

Head of Chemistry, Professor Mike Ward, commented:

“We are delighted that our students are so happy with their experience in this department, awarding us one of the top scores for overall student satisfaction in the Russell Group. We work hard – in partnership with the student body – to ensure that our students have the best possible learning opportunities and leave us ready for their future challenges.”

Full 2019 NSS results are available at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/student-information-and-data/national-student-survey-nss/get-the-nss-data/

Congratulations to Warwick Chemistry Student Ambassador, Joe Crowther, who won the Unitemps Student Employee Outstanding Performance Award. Our Student Ambassadors play a key role hosting prospective students and their guests at Open Days, providing an insight into the course and life at Warwick, and leading tours of the Department and campus. Joe was nominated by the Chemistry Department Admissions Team for his dedication and commitment, noting positive feedback from visitors, and describing him as a “delight to work with” and “a great asset to the team and the University”. Joe and his Personal Tutor, Dr Gabriele Sosso, attended the awards evening held at Radcliffe Conference Centre on Thursday 20 June.

MAS student and Performance Athlete, Hannah Burnage, has been chosen as part of a national team of seven archers representing Great Britain in the World University Summer Games in Italy.

MAS student and Performance Athlete, Hannah Burnage, has been selected as part of a national team of seven archers representing Great Britain in the World University Summer Games in Italy.

Warwick colleagues select some of the most important elements to them from the Periodic Table, an idea first presented by Russian chemist Dmitrii Mendeleev 150 years ago this month.