Becer group

Welcome to the Becer Research Group webpage! We are working on development of sustainable polymer approaches in plastics industry as well as biomedical applications. Becer group was initially established at Warwick in 2010 and then moved to Queen Mary University of London (School of Engineering and Materials Science) in 2013. In 2019, the group moved back to Warwick Chemistry to have direct access to excellent analytical facilities, students and colleagues. Our Sustainable Polymer Chemistry Laboratories are located on the third floor, C-block of the main Chemistry building.

We have four sub research areas. The first one is on the development new polymers using biomass compounds. We are looking into levulinic acid and carbohydrates to obtain sustainable plastics. The second area is on industrially funded, applied research. We have been developing polymeric additives for engine oils and compressor oils. We have 10 world patents to cover the IP on using poly(2-oxazoline)s as lubricants, viscosity modifiers and dispersants. We have also created another large family of patents on reversible adhesives that has been created for CreateMe. The third sub group is focusing on the development of novel monomers, initiators, catalysts to achieve highly controlled (dispersity, sequence, stereochemistry) in macromolecular structures. The final subgroup is on biomaterials, gene delivery adjuvants, targeting ligands that are incorporated in molecular machines, lipid nanoparticles and stomatocytes. This line of research is funded by EU Horizon grants. www.biomolmacs.com and www.natprime.org 

To achieve these materials, we are utilizing living polymerization techniques such as anionic or cationic polymerizations and controlled radical polymerization techniques, in combination with highly efficient organic reactions, aka click reactions, to prepare most of our designed polymers. We can perform almost all types organic reactions in our laboratories in order to obtain the desired small or large molecules. We have direct access to wide range of analytical facilities at Warwick. Besides, our laboratories are very well equipped and we are able to perform detailed analysis of small organic compounds as well as polymers.

If you are interested in a research collaboration in the fields of sustainable materials and targeted delivery of nucleic acids please contact Prof. Dr. Remzi Becer directly via email: remzi.becer@warwick.ac.uk