Our research focuses on the design of new nanostructured materials.

Current Research Themes:

Molecular Engineering

We employ advanced organic and polymer chemistry to design well-defined polymers, which are then organised into nanostructured materials by using supramolecular interactions.

RAFT polymerisation

We are one of the leading international groups working on the reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) process. The RAFT process is one of the most advanced polymerisation techniques to date that permits the synthesis of very well defined functional polymers. Our research in the field covers the understanding of the polymerisation kinetics and mechanim, as well as the development of new methodologies and synthetic procedures.

Cyclic peptide polymer nanotubes

We have developed new nanomaterials based on the conjugation of polymers to cyclic peptides, which assemble via H-bond into nanotubes. The organic nanotubes can be controlled in term of size and functionality, and have application in a variety of fields, as transmembrane channels, porous membranes and drug delivery vectors.

We have developed these systems as drug delivery vectors under a project sponsored by the European Research Council (TUSUPO).

Silica nanoparticle hybrids

We engineer core-shell nanoparticles based on a silica core and a polymeric shell by grafting polymers that form the surface of the inorganic particle. The particles are highly monodisperse and functional, with applications in nanomedicine and in materials science.