Alex joined NPL in 2020 and is responsible for the Peptide laboratory; including the recent acquisition of a new Liberty Blue HT-12 Synthesizer and a Waters Prep LC150 purification system. Alex subsequently pioneered the efficient synthesis of a library of modified self assembling ‘triskelion’ Peptides (Biomaterials Science, 2021, 9 (20), 6807-6812) at NPL; with potential antimicrobial and transfection agent applications. His research interests focus on a range of applications of Peptides (see below); in tandem with the pursuit of high quality and standardization of these versatile materials.
Alex obtained his MCHem degree from the University of Durham in 2010, where he received a Wellcome Trust Scholarship to develop novel Peptide protecting groups under the direction of Prof. Steven Cobb. Upon graduation, he continued to develop his skills within the Peptide field at CRB and Medimmune; prior to undertaking a Chemical Biology PhD at the University of Southampton. Alex then conducted Peptide focussed post doctoral research within the Jamieson and Liskamp groups at the University of Glasgow (UOG). During this period, he worked on a range of Peptide applications; from novel insecticides (leading to the UOG spin out company SOLAST Bio), to the incorporation of Oxetane Dipeptides (Organic Letters, 2017, 19 (12), 3303-3306). Alex brings more than a decade of industrial and academic Peptide experience to NPL.
Areas of Interest
- 9-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS)
- Standardization of High Purity Peptide Synthesis and Synthesizers
- Peptide Analysis and Purification via Reverse Phase (RP) High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)
- Self Assembling Peptides
- Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)
- Virus Like Particles (VLPs)
- Peptide Hydrogels
- Therapeutic Peptides
- Proteolytic Stability of Peptides
Email Alex Hoose