Chemistry department faculty members joining the RSC Webinar

The Royal Society of Chemistry provides a platform for studying the chemistry of life, developing the advanced science behind modern technology, bringing together chemical scientists using their expertise to improve health, the environment and our daily lives. To this respect, taking into consideration that collaboration is essential, several events such webinars, forums, and open discussions are organized under the auspice of the RSC.

Very recently, a webinar entitled RSC International Accreditation Research webinar series has been organised between April 29th and May 3rd where Dr Qiuchen Dong and Dr Magdalini Matziari from Chemistry Department presented their recent research results.

Dr Qiuchen Dong’s presentation was about developing a microfluidic-based potentiometric pH sensor for microliter volume measurements. This work has greatly facilitated small volume liquid pH determination with high reproducibility and accuracy (±0.01 pH) in the pH range of 2.0-10.0. The MRes student Ms Weiyu Xiao has majorly contributed in this study and a patent has been filled to State Intellectual Office related to this work by Dr Dong. This work was published on Microchimica Acta 190.11 (2023): 457.

Dr Magdalini Matziari’s presentation highlighted the progress in creating phosphorus-based enzyme inhibitors and prodrugs, with a particular emphasis on phosphinic inhibitors for HIV-1 protease. The lead compound for this study, the phosphinic analogue of Lopinavir was synthesized by the PhD student Ms Komal Hayat, the biological evaluation was performed by the PhD student Ms Danwen Qiu, and the molecular simulation studies were performed by the group of Dr Faez Khan from the Biological Sciences department. This work has been just submitted for publication at the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

Webinars such as the RSC International Accreditation Research series are vital platforms for sharing insights and fostering potential collaborations in the field.

It is worth mentioning that the UG programme of Chemistry department at XJTLU has been the first programme in China to be accredited by the RSC. On a related note, the Department of Chemistry at UoL has been very recently awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its pioneering research and innovation work to address global challenges and benefit society. The departments of Chemistry at UoL and XJTLU are working closely together, not only within the 2+2 UG articulation, but also in joined research projects and students’ exchange initiatives.

Material provided: Dr Magdalini Matziari

Editor: Luyao Wang