Research Highlights

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are currently under intense scrutiny for vaccine delivery and RNA therapies. Key to their successful optimisation and translation is a nanoscale, single particle characterisation of the relationship between LNP structure, composition, and performance. Maximising performance and understanding intracellular trafficking are key components of LNP rational design. Phospholipases, specific lipid modifying enzymes, are […]

DHODH (dihydroorotate dehydrogenase) catalyzes a key step in the biosynthesis of pyrimidines, precursors of nucleic acids needed for DNA and RNA synthesis in all living organisms. Because of this, DHODH is a drug target for the inhibition of inflammation and investigated as a target to inhibit cell proliferation (cancer) and viral replication.  Human DHODH is […]

Spin liquids are a topical and fascinating subject of condensed matter physics, fueled by the hope to create novel ground-states of matter. Typically, the combination of antiferromagnetic interactions with strong frustration leads to a rich variety of highly correlated spin states rather than to conventional order. Experimental research, however, has remained inconclusive in respect to […]

Nakhlite meteorites are igneous rocks from Mars that reacted with water ~630 million years ago while still part of the Martian bedrock, during a time that is often suggested to have been a “dry” period on Mars. However, magmatism and meteorite impacts can trigger so called hydrothermal systems with warm fluids circulating in the bedrock, […]

Li-S batteries are promoted as a highly promising energy storage solution, but the specific energy demonstrated so far (~400 W h kg‑1) is restricted by the low utilization of active materials in both lithium and sulfur electrodes. The incomplete discharge process of the sulfur electrode is associated with precipitation of insulating reaction products from polysulfide intermediates. This process, […]

Membrane proteins mediate communication between the outside and inside of cells, and are common drug targets. Detailed understanding of the structure and function of these proteins enrich our basic understanding of how biology works at a molecular level, and can in the long run inform drug development. We have focused on the pentameric ligand-gated ion […]

The COVID 19 pandemic had worldwide impact in 2020 and continues to do so to this day. Understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus interacts with the body and why it has greater impact on some areas of the population than others is of great importance. Early on, studies found the need for the presence of cholesterol […]

The understanding of interfacial properties of materials as well as interfacial processes in terms of structural, morphological and compositional changes is of crucial importance in many scientific fields that include chemistry, physics, biology and engineering. Overall, surface science has advanced enormously over the last decades, which is related to the development of a series of […]

The phase behavior of phospholipids dictates various membrane properties, such as permeability, shape, and stiffness. Some phospholipids exhibit a polymorphic gel phase and are capable of undergoing membrane interdigitation under specific conditions, such as in the presence of short-chain alcohols (e.g., ethanol). Ethanol-induced interdigitation of diacyl–phosphatidylcholine bilayers has been leveraged to formulate large unilamellar vesicles […]

The quality of the bone tissue formed at the contact interface with a metallic implant is of utmost importance for the structural integrity of implant fixation. This quality can be assessed, e.g., based on its 3D microstructure, which is commonly visualised using x-ray tomography. However, due to large differences in interaction strength between the metal […]

In metal 3D powder bed printing, a part is built on a baseplate layer-by-layer through powder deposition and selectively melting of the deposited powder layer. The localized rapid heating and cooling cycles involved inevitably result in the development of residual stresses in the already solidified bulk of the part. The residual stresses can cause in-process […]

Emergence is the phenomenon of collective behaviour that cannot predicted from considerations of the individual constituents but rather through complex interactions resulting in novel and diverse states of matter. A well-known example is the benzene ring, a loop of six carbon atoms, that can be further interconnected to create carbon nanotubes. Emergent behaviour in magnetic […]

Surface science has advanced enormously in recent decades, but many scientific questions are not resolved. Examples are spin wave dispersions with experiments contrasting theory or a difference in the potential defining the zero point energy of H adsorbed at Pt and Si surfaces. The surface dynamics of glass formers is under discussion as well as […]

Nanostructured porous thin films made from biocompatible cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are widely used due to their attractive properties such as made from renewable resources, low density, lightweight, thermal stability, and excellent mechanical properties. These prerequisites make CNF a promising precursor for the design of bio composites and bio-inspired sensors. One crucial question is the relation […]

The Polaris instrument at ISIS began operation as a high intensity, medium resolution powder diffractometer in the late 1980s. It quickly established a large and scientifically diverse research community, encompassing engineering, materials science, condensed matter physics, solid state chemistry and earth science. However, by the late 2000s many of the key components of the Polaris […]

Lately the effect of global warming has been generally accepted and the interest of renewable resources is constantly increasing. Hydrogen would serve this purpose as an alternative fuel; however, storage is a challenging task and there is a need for new materials, with higher hydrogen capacity and lower cost. The concept of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) […]

Proton conducting oxides, and in particular acceptor doped BaZrO3, are materials of great interest because of their huge potential as electrolyte in several energy related technologies, such as hydrogen sensors, membrane reactors, steam electrolyzers, and intermediate-temperature (200 – 500 °C) solid oxide fuel cells. A key requirement for the electrolyte is a high proton conductivity […]

Many low molecular weight drugs, like classical surfactants, contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups. However, due to their lower molecular weight and less distinct separation into hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, the self-assembly of such drugs in aqueous solutions is less easy to describe in general terms. To gain more understanding of the interaction between such […]

In recent year, new therapeutic modalities involving delivery of biological molecules such as RNA, peptides and oligonucleotides have shown promising results to treat diseases that are currently hard to tackle with standard small molecules approaches. As an example, last year Alnylam announced the first therapy using small interference RNA (siRNA) approved by the Federal Drug […]

The transition from the current two-dimensional data storage and logic schemes to three-dimensional data structures could significantly improve the performance and capacity of electronic devices. Instead of simply storing and manipulating data in a two-dimensional array of elements, one can envisage stacking data bits on top of each other, thus greatly enhancing the data density. […]

Multilayered Graphene Oxide (GO) materials such as membranes and thin films are known for their potential for selective ion permeation, nano-filtration, water desalination and gas barrier properties. Many recent studies have aimed at demonstration of selective permeation of certain ions and molecules through GO membranes. Membrane tests were demonstrated to be successful for relatively thin […]