Our research develops new catalytic strategies to reprogramme the innate reactivity of simple amines, enabling direct access to complex, medicinally relevant nitrogen-containing molecules. We are particularly interested in selective C–H functionalisation of unprotected primary and secondary alkylamines, using photoredox catalysis, hydrogen-atom transfer and continuous-flow chemistry to form C–C bonds at positions that are traditionally difficult to functionalise. More broadly, we aim to develop step- and atom-efficient routes to saturated heterocycles and three-dimensional building blocks for drug discovery. The example shown illustrates this approach through direct α-C–H heteroarylation of unprotected primary amines, overriding their usual preference for reaction at nitrogen.

Precious metals such as platinum, palladium, and iridium play crucial catalytic roles throughout chemistry, for the synthesis of everything from bulk chemicals to fine products. However, as their name implies, precious metals present major problems for sustainable synthesis. Aside from the obvious cost and scarcity issues, precious metal extraction suffers from an enormous environmental footprint, while precious metal contamination can lead to context-sensitive problems such as toxicity in pharmaceuticals or reduced performance in advanced organic materials. These problems would be avoided if precious metals’ catalytic performance could be reproduced using earth abundant main group elements, but this is normally very challenging. To address this, we have been developing new strategies to allow main group elements to display “precious metal-like” reactivity, including by “turbocharging” elementary steps such as reductive elimination via photocatalysis (A) and exploiting the innate reactivity of simple ortho-quinones to design new types of catalytic cycles (B). We are also interested in “green” main group chemistry more generally, including the sustainable use of P4 as a P atom source (C).

Our work in the Dynamic Reaction Monitoring (DReaM) Facility develops and applies new spectroscopic methods for the non-invasive, real-time (“operando”) analysis of chemical reactions – live & direct, as they happen – to understand the origin of chemical reactivity in complex systems, fix whatever may be limiting its true potential, and use the knowledge to develop new reactions and catalysts. This includes advanced high-resolution FlowNMR methods, reaction progress kinetic analyses, catalytic reaction mechanisms, and organometallic chemistry. In close collaboration with industry, we apply this approach to a range of important transformations including asymmetric hydrogenation, hydroformylation, epoxidation, dehydrogenation, photoredox catalysis, electrocatalysis and rearrangement reactions to derive new insights that enable rational improvements in efficiency.

We develop new technologies based on peptide asparaginyl ligases, a class of enzymes that join and cyclise peptides with exceptional precision and efficiency. Our research spans three interconnected areas. (1) We engineer next-generation biocatalysts using directed evolution to improve enzyme performance and expand their capabilities. (2) We exploit ligases activities to modify peptides inside living cells, enabling the development of intracellular cyclic peptide screening platforms for sustainable discovery of new therapeutics. (3) We apply biocatalytic ligation technologies to support the convergent synthesis and late-stage functionalisation of synthetic peptides and semi-synthetic proteins, creating sustainable and efficient routes to complex biomolecules with applications in biotechnology and medicine.

We are developing new catalytic methods for the direct synthesis of structurally complex and non-natural amino acids (A vs B) from simple glycine derivatives and alkenes. To do this, we have invented an iridium-catalysed C(sp3)–H functionalisation platform, where coordination of the catalyst to the glycine derivative triggers enolisation in advance of C-C bond formation via an unusual alkene carbometallation process (C). This provides a direct and atom-efficient way to form C–C bonds without requiring stoichiometric enolate generation or prefunctionalisation of either reaction partner. Ultimately, we aim to establish C(sp3)–H/alkene cross-coupling as a general platform for accessing amino-acid building blocks that are difficult to prepare using established methods.