Organisation profile

Biological chemistry at Bristol utilises methods across computational, synthetic, analytical and biophysical chemistry to address contemporary problems in chemical biology and the archaeological sciences, as well breaking new ground in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

Specific research areas include: understanding fundamental biomolecular processes that lead to macromolecular folding and assembly, small molecule-protein interactions, and enzyme catalysis; the design of new peptide-based assemblies and materials for biomedical applications; the synthesis of carbohydrate-coated nanoparticles for bioimaging; the engineering of polyketide synthases to drive discovery of new pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals; and the application of mass spectrometry to study human prehistory.

This work is underpinned by exceptional facilities for synthesis, molecular biology, biological spectroscopy, high-performance computing, mass spectrometry, and advanced microscopy.

Many of the chemists working in this area at Bristol are founding members of cross-University centres, including the Cabot Institute for studies into environmental change; the Bristol Polyketide Group; and the Synthetic Biology Research Centre, BrisSynBio.