Thordarson Group

RNA and Peptide Systems Chemistry

Thordarson group at UNSW

What we do:

Chemistry is the central science and the key to understanding biology at a deep level and to be able to apply that knowledge to solving pressing challenges, particular in human health. We apply a cross-disciplinary approach to advance our understanding of complexity in chemistry at the interface between chemistry and biology, particular at the nanoscale. We have over a decade of experience in investigating peptide gel systems and protein-polymer interactions with our most recent efforts being focused on the interactions between peptides and RNA.

This research falls within the emerging category of systems chemistry, which is founded in supramolecular chemistry. In our work we apply the principles of supramolecular chemistry to tease a part more complex biological / biohybrid mixtures and materials. Synthetic organic chemistry is a key tool in our group, but we then apply a range of analytical methods ranging from NMR and UV spectroscopy to rheology, AFM and cryo-TEM. Through our collaborators we also use proteins and other biomaterial in our work and investigate the properties of our systems through a range of cellular assays.

We published with authors from over 20 different countries and in journals across several different disciplines. We welcome diversity of opinion and experiences and invite you to take a closer look at our group and our work!