The TG Supramolecular and Medicinal Chemistry Research Group is based in the School of Chemistry, Trinity College Dublin and is at the cutting edge of research into supramolecular structures, sensor design and materials development. The principal investigator is Professor Thorfinnur Gunnlaugsson.
The TG Group is housed in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), as part of the School of Chemistry. The School is divided between several institutes on and near the main campus, such as the Chemistry Building, the Sami Nasr Institute of Advanced Materials (SNIAM), the Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and TBSI (Map).
To celebrate International Women’s Day, ItsHER held their Women in STEMM Summit at Trinity College Dublin in the Fitzgerald Physics Building. Niamh presented her poster on the “The Synthesis of Mechanically Interlocking Molecules using the btp [2,6-bis(1,2,3-triazole-4-yl)pyridine]” at the summit. There was some great talks and discussion panels about the careers and work/research women are carrying out in the STEM sector. Thank you to everyone who organised the event and those who visited Niamh’s poster for their insightful questions and thoughts.
The Gunnlaugsson group is happy to announce the publication of a new research article in the journal “Advanced Science“. In the work entitled “Ligand Chirality Transfer from Solution State to the Crystalline Self-Assemblies in Circularly Polarized Luminescence (CPL) Active Lanthanide Systems,” the authors utilised CPL techniques to prove the presence of enantiopure Eu(III) luminescent complexes in the solution, and solid state for their single crystals. Moreover, CPL Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (CPL-LSCM) allowed these crystals to be examined in detail by recording enantioselective differential chiral contrast (EDCC) images. These findings open exciting new avenues toward the development of CPL-OLEDs and displays as well as complements the knowledge within CPL research of self-assembled supramolecular systems.
This work was started by Drs. David F. Caffrey and Niamh S. Murray and continued by Drs. Tumpa Gorai, Oxana Kotova and Steve Comby. The crystallographic data was analysed by Profs. Miguel Martínez-Calvo and Jonathan A. Kitchen as well as Bláithín Rawson. We also wanted to greatly acknowledge our longstanding collaboration with Prof. Robert D. Peacock from the University of Glasgow, Prof. Robert Pal, and Dr. Patrycja Stachelek from Durham University, without whom CPL as well as CPL-LSCM would not be possible. We thank Science Foundation Ireland, the SFI funded AMBER Center, Irish Research Council and Trinity College Dublin as well as the Royal Society University Research Fellowship and H2020 for financial support of this work. Last but not least, we thank Prof. Thorri Gunnlaugsson for all his efforts in the collaboration!
D’freastal Níamh ag an gCeimic as Gaeilge 2024 le ICI YCN ag Ollscoil na hÉireann. Bhí gach duine ag ceiliúradh Seachtain Na Gaeilge 2024 le dúirt gach duine ag caint faoin chemic as Gaeilge. Thug Niamh an chéad caint de a PhD. Bhí Niamh ag caint faoin a tionscadal “Móilíní atá idirghaolmhar go meicniúil agus Micreascópacht” agus a torthaí ag baint lei a cuid oibre. Thaispeáint Niamh a hoibre le íomhanna ón Micreascópacht leictreon a scanadh agus a hoibre le corás btps. Bhi gach cainteoir go hiontach ar fad agus an-suimiuil. Míle buíochas le gach duine ag freastal agus na duine ag eagraíocht an ócáid seo.
Niamh attended Chemic as Gaeilge held by ICI YCN at the National University of Ireland. Everyone was celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024 by speaking about chemistry in Irish. Niamh gave her first talk of her PhD. Niamh talked about her project tilted “Mechanically interlocking molecules and Microscopy” and the results of her work. Niamh showed her work with SEM images and her work with btp systems. Every speaker/talk was excellent and very interesting. Many thanks to everyone in attendance and the organisers of the event.
The group have had their article titled “Tracking the cellular uptake and phototoxicity of Ru(II)-polypyridyl-1,8-naphthalimide Tröger’s base conjugates” accepted for publication in the RSC journal RSC Chemical Biology, in collaboration with the groups of Prof. Robert Elmes, Chemistry, Maynooth University, and Prof. Clive Williams, School of Biochemistry and Immunology, TCD, and with researchers from the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The article is the outcome of a long-standing collaboration between the these research groups within the area of developing luminescent Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes as cellular targeting probes and as photo-activated cancer therapeutics. The work described here is centered on the latter, as there are use of highly potent bis-Ru(II) complexes formed by using the highly-versatile naphthalimide Tröger base building platform, under low energy light dose. The work was supported by the SFI and the IRC and is published as an open access and can be downloaded here: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/cb/d3cb00206c
Dr. Adam Henwood’s paper on AIE naphthalimide dyes for FLIM is out now in Chem (Cell Press)! This exciting work demonstrates how these dyes “time travel” through cells: by using FLIM we can visualise their transition from “On” to “Off” to “On” again as the dyes progress from nanoparticle assemblies to single molecules localised within lipid droplets in live cells. This work is a celebration of many current and past members of the group (Connie, Tomas, Sandra, Sachi, June, Hannah, and Chris), as well as valuable collaborative links with friends further afield (Prof. Donal O’Shea at RCSI and Prof. Denis Jacquemin at the University of Nantes). We also have to thank the integral roles played by the IRC and the SSPC, SFI’s Research Centre for Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Oxana Kotova attended the 7th Irish Biological Inorganic Chemistry Symposium (IBICS-7) that was held in UCD village on the 15th of December 2023.
The conference was organized by the former TG group member Dr. Joseph Byrne and plenary lectures were delivered by internationally distinguished researchers Professor Ramón Vilar from Imperial College London and Professor Petra Heffeter from Medical University of Vienna.
Another successful IBICS symposium! As always, we are excited to see what’s in store for the next one.
Photo: Drs. Oxana Kotova, Joe Byrne, and Simon Smith(left to right) happily enjoying the conference.
Last week, Niamh returned to the University of Limerick to share her research on “Investigating Mechanically Interlocking Molecules with the btp [2,5(1,2,3-triazole-4-yl]pyridine motif” during the Microscopy Society of Ireland Symposium 2024. Her presentation highlighted the results of her SEM Solvent studies. Niamh enjoyed the opportunity to attend interesting highlighting the cutting-edge research being carried out in Ireland today. A special expression of gratitude goes to all those involved in organizing this enriching event at the Bernal Institute.
Members of the Gunnlaugsson Group were thrilled to participate in MASC 2023 at the University of Birmingham. A huge thanks to this year’s host, Dr. Tim Barendt and the organising committee for a great conference! A fantastic arrangement of talks and posters were presented, highlighting the exciting developments in the field.
Well done to Dr. Oxana Kotova, Dr. Adam Henwood, Connie Sigurvinsson, Niamh O’Shea and Bláithín Rawson for their poster presentations, showcasing the latest advancements in their respective works
The group is looking forward to MASC 2024 in York!
Thorri Gunnlaugsson recently marked his 25th anniversary at Trinity College Dublin. To commemorate this occasion, Thorri led a seminar titled “25 years in the making: Study of Luminescence Supramolecular Self-Assembly in TCD.” It was an opportunity to showcase the incredible work, research, and contributions he has made over the years.
Celebrations continued the following day, as the group gathered for lunch to honour Thorri’s accomplishments, with special guest – Toby!
As we look back on these 25 years of dedication and innovation, we extend our congratulations to Thorri and express our gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the field of supramolecular chemistry. Here’s to many more years of ground breaking research and achievements!
In early October, Tomas returned from a 2 month research visit in Palli Thordarson’s lab at UNSW, Sydney where he worked on a collaborative research project concerning the binding of RNA to luminescent Eu(III) complexes. The combined experience of supramolecular interactions in biochemistry and coordination chemistry resulted in a very successful short study, awaiting publication. Tomas would like to thank Palli and Thorri for organising this collaboration and the wonderful people at UNSW.
Gunnlaugsson Group, Trinity College Dublin 