Supramolecular Approaches to Drug Design and Delivery

该项目将开发小型有机分子和金属有机分子，我们可以在其中设计特定的非共价相互作用，以控制这些分子如何通过非共价相互作用与周围环境相互作用。我们的目标是应用这些知识来实时控制分子的溶解度。学会控制这一基本特性将使我们能够控制小功能分子的细胞摄取和生物分布，从而设计出新的治疗方法和诊断方法，这些方法和诊断方法可以传递到特定部位以发挥作用。我们还将把我们的新分子设计纳入功能性两亲体的可控构建中，这些两亲体可以自组装成水相容的聚集体，并在触发药物功能的刺激下分解。该学生将进行新颖的有机和无机合成。随后将进行基础研究，以确定和量化溶液和固态中分子间和分子内的非共价相互作用，包括实验和计算。这些相互作用对分子在亲水/疏水溶剂混合物中的溶解度和分配偏好的影响将被确定。将确定形成的非共价相互作用是动态的并且可以通过外部刺激控制的条件，并确定这些刺激对分子类药物性质的影响。这是一个多学科项目，将提供机会在化学与生物和材料科学的界面工作，并与其他研究人员在这些领域在伦敦大学学院和更远的地方合作。该项目属于合成超分子化学和合成配位化学研究领域。该项目的科学目标与EPSRC在健康国家成果中提出的目标一致：H3：优化诊断和H4：开发未来的治疗技术。

This project will develop small organic and metal-organic molecules in which we can engineer specific non-covalent interactions to control how these molecules can interface with their surroundings through non-covalent interactions. We aim to apply this knowledge to gain real-time control of the solubility of our molecules. Learning to control this fundamental property will allow us to control the cellular uptake and biodistribution of small, functional molecules in order to design new therapeutics and diagnostics that can be delivered to a particular site in order to function. We will also incorporate our new molecular designs into the controlled construction of functional amphiphiles that can self-assemble into water-compatible aggregates that disassemble in response to stimuli that triggers a medicinal function.The student will carry out novel organic and inorganic synthesis. This will be followed by fundamental studies to identify and quantify inter- and intramolecular non-covalent interactions in solution and in the solid state, both experimentally and computationally. The effect of these interactions on the solubility and partitioning preferences of molecules in hydrophilic/ hydrophobic solvent mixtures will be established. Conditions under which the non-covalent interactions formed are dynamic and can be controlled via external stimuli will be identified, and the effect of these stimuli on the drug-like properties of the molecule will be determined.This is a multidisciplinary project that will provide opportunities to work at the interface of chemistry with biological and materials sciences and to collaborate with other researchers in these areas at UCL and further afield. The project fits within the Synthetic Supramolecular Chemistry and Synthetic coordination chemistry research areas. The scientific goals of the project are in line with the Ambitions laid out by EPSRC within Healthy Nation Outcomes: H3: Optimise diagnosis and and H4: Develop future therapeutic technologies.