Design, Synthesis and Study of
Functional Biosupramolecular Systems

The research interests of the Matile group are at the interface of synthetic organic, biological and supramolecular materials chemistry.  The general objective is to create function from scratch, using methods such as multistep organic synthesis, surface-initiated polymerization, dynamic chemistry, self-assembly, self-sorting, self-repair, templated synthesis and stack exchange.  Design strategies often apply lessons from nature.  Functions of interest are centered around transport, i.e. transport of electrons and holes in synthetic photosystems, anions and cations in synthetic transporters in lipid bilayer membranes, and larger molecules in sensing applications and cellular uptake.

Group members working on these projects gain significant expertise in multistep organic synthesis.  Moreover (or alternatively), they can learn various methods for functional analysis (photocurrents, transport in membranes, binding, catalysis), optoelectronic characterization (cyclic voltammetry, fluorescence, absorption, circular dichroism spectroscopy), and surface analytics (atomic force microscopy, quartz crystal microbalance, microcontact printing).  They are also encouraged to benefit from fruitful in-house collaborations (computational chemistry, ultrafast photophysics, surface analytics, cellular uptake, GUV imaging).

Specific current topics of interest are:

Multistep Organic Synthesis

Photosystems

Ion Transport in Membranes

> Cellular Uptake and Biosensing

Exotic Interactions at Work

Recent reviews:  Chem. Soc. Rev. 2010, 39, 138 (photosystems) • Chem. Soc. Rev. 2011, 40, 2453 (ion transporters) • Langmuir 2011, 27, 9696 (general) • Chem. Commun. 2010, 46, 4225 (naphthalenediimides)

In the Press

chemistryworld

ChemicalScience

C&EN

Funding