Who we are
We are a group of scientists at the Cavendish Lab, University of Cambridge, UK. Our research is focused on understanding transport processes through membranes.
The physics of ions, macromolecules and particles in confined geometries at the single molecule/-particle level is of particular interest. We exert maximum control over all parameters in our experiments using several techniques: DNA (origami) self-assembly, optical trapping, particle tracking, fluorescence microscopy, electrophysiology, or micro-/nanofluidics, often in combination.
Our interdisciplinary team combines researchers with expertise in physics, engineering, physical chemistry, biochemistry/biology, and micro- and nanofabrication.
In case you are interested in working with us, please get in touch with Ulrich by email: ufk20 (at) cam.ac.uk.
We gratefully acknowledge funding of our work from various sources including:
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News
11/9/2019 Published in Applied Physics Letters: Cation dependent electroosmotic flow in glass nanopores
Jeff collaborated with Prof Kurt Andresen. We show that cations have unexpected effects on electro-osmotic flows in nanopores. Congrats for being Editor's Pick for issue 11.
26/7/2019 Published in Nano Letters: Current Enhancement in Solid-State Nanopores Depends on Three-Dimensional DNA Structure
Vivian and Nik show that the current enhancement observed in glass nanopores depends on three-dimensional structure of DNA orgiami. Excellent results from Vivian's MPhil project!
8/7/2019 Published online JACS: FeII4L4 Tetrahedron Binds to Nonpaired DNA Bases
Together with the (Nitschke Group) Jinbo shows that their coordination cages are suitable for the all-optical detection of unpaired bases in DNA. Congratulations!
1/7/2019 NEW paper in Phys. Rev. Lett.: Nonlinear Electrophoresis of Highly Charged Nonpolarizable Particles
In a successful collaboration with Douwe Bonthuis (Graz) Soichiro shows that non-linear electrophoresis is real and can lead to a new way of trapping particles beyong dielectrophoresis. Congratulations!
30/5/2019 NEW paper in Phys. Rev. Lett.: Density-Dependent Speed-up of Particle Transport in Channels
Karolis uses hydrodynamic and electrophoretic forces to understand and model stochastic transport in single-file channels. A video explaining the experiments can be found here. Congratulations!
11/02/2019 Just published in Lab on a Chip: A microfluidic platform for the characterisation of membrane active antimicrobials
Kareem and our collaborators from NPL and Delft introduce a novel platform for the characterisation of animicrobial peptides in Lab on a Chip!
4/1/2019 For the new year we just published our first paper in Nature Communications: Experimental evidence of symmetry breaking of transition-path times
In a collaboration with Felix Ritort, Jannes showed that transition-path times can be investigates and their symmetry broken in mesoscopic and microscopic systems. Congratulations!
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