Marvellous Molecules and Medicines

Since the advent of insulin therapy in the 1920s, numerous other peptide-based drugs have entered the market as promising treatments for a wide array of diseases. Aside from their use as therapeutics, peptides have emerged as powerful tools for medical research, with applications ranging from clinical diagnostics to the design of new drug delivery platforms. This talk will overview the key developments of peptide science in the pharmaceutical space and discuss the ways in which major obstacles are being addressed as this area of research advances.

Despite its rarity in natural products, fluorine is the 13th most abundant element on Earth. Its enhanced chemical reactivity provides a powerful synthetic tool and since the introduction of fludrocortisone into the drug market in 1954, more and more approved pharmaceuticals contain at least one fluorine atom. Additionally, fluorine has been utilized in radiotracers for medical scanning, most notably PET. This talk aims to provide an outlook into medicinal applications within fluorine chemistry and how its incorporation into drug candidates and imaging agents can provide beneficial properties.

In nature – patterns are everywhere. From zebras stripes to leopards spots, surfaces like skin are patterned down to the cellular level. Whilst nature has many techniques for the autonomous patterning of materials, human kind has none. My research takes inspiration from natural systems to pattern both the timing and location of where chemicals are made. Join me for a journey in to the world of droplet chemistry and patterned materials.