Synthetic Strategies for Photosensitive Organic Diagnostics

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Molecular recognition plays an essential role in all biological processes: from the molecular machinery of the ribosome that translates RNA into proteins, to the antibody-antigen response that has been at the centre of efforts to produce a Covid-19 vaccine. Many of these biological interactions occur over large surface areas that have evolved over vast periods of time to optimise both affinity and specificity. Can the power and creativity of organic synthesis be harnessed to produce small molecules that match the exquisite recognition properties of large biologics? This project will develop structure-guided rationally designed synthetic receptors of therapeutically relevant targets, with a particular focus on peptide- and protein-surface recognition in oncology and amyloidogenic degenerative conditions. The synthetic receptors will be displayed on a thin-film polymeric support integrated with a mid-IR photonic device. The resulting thin-film sensor will be tuned to recognise low concentrations of biochemical analyte in body fluids such as saliva and blood plasma. The long-term aim is application in clinical settings for point-of-care biochemical analysis.