Professor Scott L. Cockroft

Personal Chair of Supramolecular Chemistry

Research summary

Physical organic chemistry, molecular recognition, non-covalent interactions, supramolecular chemistry, molecular machines

Research overview

Organic and Supramolecular Chemistry

Research in the Cockroft group spans organic chemistry and bionanotechnology. We combine molecules of synthetic and biological origins to examine the physical organic chemistry underpinning molecular interactions and the operation of molecular machines.

 

For a full list of publications and more information about the Cockroft research group please see the group's website.

Context-dependent significance of London dispersion L. A. Gravillier, S. L. Cockroft*. Acc. Chem. Res., 56, 23, 3535–3544 (2023) -Featured in Acc. Chem. Res. 'Special Issue - Dispersion Interactions in Chemistry'

Quantifying through-space substituent effects R. J. Burns, I. K. Mati, K. B. Muchowska, C. Adam, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 16717-16724 (2020). -Featured in: Nature Reviews Chemistry and as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem. -Also see commentary in Chemistry World

The origin of chalcogen-bonding interactions D. J. Pascoe, K. B. Ling, S. L. Cockroft*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 139, 15160-15167 (2017). 

Synthetically diversified protein nanopores: Resolving click reaction mechanisms M. M. Haugland, S. Borsley, D. F. Cairns-Gibson, A. Elmi, S. L. Cockroft*. ACS Nano, 13, 4101–4110 (2019)

Expertise: supramolecular chemistry, physical organic chemistry, molecular recognition, molecular interactions, foldamers, single-molecule studies, lipid membranes, protein nanopores

Sectors: Synthesis & Manufacture, Drug Discovery & Development, Biotechnology, Analysis, Environment & Sustainability

The Cockroft group examine the physical (in)organic chemistry underpinning molecular interactions, solvation, and processes occurring across lipid membranes using both experiment and theory. Scott's interests in this area were sparked by a 1-year work placement at AstraZeneca in a physical organic chemistry team. Since then, he has worked with Pfizer, Syngenta, Afton Chemical, and Dstl via a series of PhD studentship to examine the fundamentals of molecular recognition, solvent effects, physicochemical properties, and the conformational preferences of compounds. We also have capabilities for examining the membrane-disrupting / pore-forming ability of small-molecules, proteins, and peptides (patch-clamp electrophysiology, and in collaboration with Prof. Mathew Horrocks, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy). In addition, we are interested in green alternatives to halogenated/fluorinated solvents based on physicochemical property matching.

Scott was the recipient of the 2024 van der Waals prize, a 2017 Philip Leverhulme Prize, the 2016 RSC Bob Hay Lectureship, and was an ERC Grant holder from 2013-2018.

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