Steve is awarded the RSC Bob Hay Lectureship and presented the Group’s research at MASC2023 held at University of Birmingham. This prestigious lecture is given annually by a younger chemist (within 15 years of the completion of their PhD) working in the area of macrocyclic and/or supramolecular chemistry. 

Congratulations to Steve’s PhD Supervisor Prof. Kate Jolliffe for picking up the Supramolecular Chemistry Award at the same event!

Members of the Butler group, including Kate, Alex, Jamie and Dom, cap off the year by presenting posters at the RSC MASC 2023 symposium at Birmingham. Thanks to the organisers for putting on a super event!

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We are excited to have Lea and Tony join us as PhD students on the EcoSense project, where will be developing small molecule and polymeric sensors for the sensitive detection of anionic pollutants in water and soil systems. Check-up for updates on this project here!

In collaboration with Hennie Valkenier and her research team, we report the transmembrane transport of inorganic phosphate by a strapped calix[4]pyrrole in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Here we utilise an emissive Eu(III) probe to bind and sense phosphate as it’s transported across lipid membranes, facilitated by a novel synthetic calix[4]pyrrole receptor.

Our collaboration with University of Oxford to develop the first probe to detect the pyrophosphate cellular messenger, 5-PP-InsP5, was featured in Loughborough University News – check out the news story here!

In collaboration with Prof. Barry Potter (Oxford University), we’ve discovered the first optical sensor for selective detection of 5-PP-InsP5 – a critical messenger molecule involved in glucose levels. Our paper was highlighted as ChemSci Pick of the Week In Chemical Science and featured on the Front Cover.

Massive congratulations to Dr Samantha Bodman for securing a Loughborough University Doctoral Prize Fellowship to carry out her own research into supramolecular electronic devices. Thanks for the last 2.5 years Sam – looking forward to seeing what comes next!

Two new papers demonstrating the application of our emissive lanthanide probes for monitoring anion transport across lipid bilayers. We present a new assay for fluoride transport by synthetic receptors (with Hennie Valkenier, Université Libre de Bruxelles) and show bicarbonate transport by the protein SLC26A6 (with Raimund Dutzler, University of Zurich)