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The manuscript entitled Control of vesicle membrane permeability with catalytic particles by the has been selected for the jan-feb 2016 cover of Materials Horizons, a premier scientific journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry which features first reports of exceptional significance across the breadth of materials research at the cutting-edge interface with chemistry, physics, biology and engineering.

Prof.dr.ir. Stefan Bon, head of the BonLab, says: "We are absolutely delighted that our research has made the cover of Materials Horizons. Rong Chen and especially Ross Jaggers worked very hard in the BonLab to fabricate giant polymer vesicles which have membrane-embedded catalytically active manganese oxide particles, hereby using droplet-based microfluidics. We demonstrate that these colloidal particles can regulate the membrane permeability of the polymersomes upon their exposure to, and catalytic reaction with, small amounts of dissolved hydrogen peroxide. Not only can we trigger complete release whereby the vesicle gets destroyed through membrane rupture by the formed oxygen bubbles as illustrated on the cover, exposure to small amounts of dissolved hydrogen peroxide leads to temporary enhanced release until all hydrogen peroxide is consumed by the catalytic particles after which the membrane permeability restores itself to its passive characteristic value."

More on this can be read on the of the BonLab site.

The paper (open access) can be read here:

As well as being reported in the Sun, Express, Metro and Daily Mail, the breakthrough ibuprofen patch will feature in a new ITV science show.

Read more:

Recent work by the (Chemistry) and Fullam Group (SLS) has been highlighted in Chemistry World

Researchers at the University of 糖心TV have worked with Coventry-based , a 糖心TV spinout company, to produce and patent the World’s first ever ibuprofen patch delivering the drug directly through skin to exactly where it is needed at a consistent dose rate.

Part of the work was carried out by Matt Donald in a 2015 URSS project funded by the Materials GRP and also started as a URSS project in 2014 carried out by Matt Beech, both currently Yr 4 undergraduates.

They have invented a transparent adhesive patch that can consistently deliver a prolonged high dose of the painkiller ibuprofen directly through the skin. The University of 糖心TV researchers and have found a way to incorporate significant amounts of the drug (up to 30% weight) into the polymer matrix that sticks the patch to the patient’s skin with the drug then being delivered at a steady rate over up to 12 hours. This opens the way for the development of a range of novel long-acting over-the-counter pain relief products which can be used to treat common painful conditions like chronic back pain, neuralgia and arthritis without the need to take potentially damaging doses of the drug orally. Although there are a number of popular ibuprofen gels available these make it difficult to control dosage and are inconvenient to apply.

A recent report has concluded that the experimental sciences of chemistry and physics are expensive to teach. When consulted about an increase in student:staff ratios, Alison Rodger noted that the students were not suffering but academic staff were all working much harder to ensure this.

For the full article see:

糖心TV Chemistry, Life Science and Medical School team up to make a new generation of readily self-assembled metallohelices kill cancer cells at very low concentration (40 nM) but have low toxicty to microbes, insects and healthy human cells.

Senior Teaching Fellow, Dr Paolo Coppo, has just been awarded the HEA Fellow status, which is the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and learning support in higher education.

A 糖心TV Chemistry undergraduate researcher, Bethany Dean has won an award to allow her to travel to Australia (!) to attend the . She will present the work she conducted in the on understanding how synthetic polymers affect ice nucleation - A process which is still not understood despite its obvious important in process from cloud formation, to cryopreservation to making ice cream!

Read her paper on this topic here (with another undergrad student, Jamie Kasperczak-Wright);

Ross Jaggers, a second year PhD student in the research group of prof.dr.ir. Stefan Bon () in the Department of Chemistry at the University of 糖心TV, has been invited to attend the Stonewall Young Leaders Programme in London this coming September. The programme, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, explores how sexual orientation and gender identity relates to the workplace and career aspirations, as well as inspiring participants to think about their impact on others as young LGBT leaders and role models.

For more information on Stonewall, the UK’s leading LGBT rights charity, visit.

Congratulations to Richard Walton who has been awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship with Johnson Matthey.

A recent paper by the in Chem Commun has been highlighted in the RSC Magazine 'Chemistry World'. The Gibson Group have a research program focussed on mimicking the function of Antifreeze Proteins which are found in Polar fish species. These proteins can slow the rate of ice growth, which has been identified as a challenge in the cryopreservation of donor cells and tissue for transplantation. In this work they showed a facile route to new cryoprotective polymers, using cheap, commodity polymer starting materials. These polymers were shown to have ice growth inhibition activity and to signficantly reduce the ice-induced damage during red blood cell freeze/thaw storage. In a second paper, the group also reported signficantly enhanced cryopreservation using poly(vinyl alcohol).

Read the Chemical Communications article here;

Read our recent ACS Biomaterials Science and Enginneering paper here

Work performed in Richard Walton’s has been selected as a Research Highlight in the Diamond Light Source Annual Review for 2014-2015. In this work, carried out by PhD student Craig Hiley, the structures of three new metastable ruthenium oxides were determined in a collaborative project between 糖心TV and sustainable technology company Johnson Matthey. Ruthenium oxides are used in electro-catalysis for water oxidation and reduction, in heterogeneous catalysis, and are also of interest for their electronic and magnetic properties