Gonville & Caius College Fellow Dr Andrew Docker is a supramolecular chemist analysing little-known interactions of molecules.

“I'm looking at a new class of interaction types that are practically non-existent or very, very rare in biological systems,” says Andrew, who joined Caius in October 2023, after his undergraduate degree and DPhil at Christ Church, Oxford.

“Practically all biological function is governed by specific and programmed interactions between molecules. Nature, however, exploits a confined set of these molecular interactions, limited by elemental bioavailability and abundance.

“The interaction types that I'm looking at are not widely, if at all, used in biological systems, but as chemists we’re not limited to what natural systems can access. We have (almost) the entire periodic table of elements to work with and recent discoveries have shown some of the more exotic elements exhibit highly unusual molecular interactions. For chemists this is very much like discovering a brand new set of tools to construct and control molecules.”

Examples of Andrew’s work may include the extraction of energy critical materials in batteries, helping to reduce the necessity to mine the earth for lithium, a finite resource. Water purification, drug design and sustainable catalysis are other aspects in which Andrew may apply his work.

“I'm wondering if we can investigate these interactions systematically and then apply them,” he says.

Andrew’s four-year Research Fellowship at Caius provides an opportunity to focus his work and collaborate in an interdisciplinary way. Collaborations with industry are also a priority.

“I am trying to convince people that this has genuine potential, not just academic interest,” he adds.

“I've worked with companies before on projects involving water remediation, highlighting how the specific area of chemistry that I'm interested in has real world application. In that study we demonstrated the water purification capabilities of the material depended on these exotic interactions and actually outperformed more traditionally used interactions.

“Another exciting opportunity is the application of these interactions in sustainable catalysis. While traditional methodologies may use expensive and toxic metals, through this new tool set we can provide greener, cheaper and more efficient ways of making molecules.”