Dr K. H. Aaron Lau
Senior Lecturer
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Personal statement
Lau Laboratory for Bioinspired Molecular Interfaces and Nanomaterials
My research aims to establish the design rules for creating synthetic polymers and nanostructures that mimic the structure and function of natural biomolecules. At the same time, since my biomimetic structures would be governed by the same biophysical principles acting on their natural counterparts, I aim to use these structures as physical models to test hypotheses on the functional mechanisms of the natural systems. This fundamental research into the聽biophysical and materials chemistry of biomimetic molecules will, in the long-term, expand the possibilities of controlling biological interactions and enable improvements in human health and our ability to fashion material functionality at will.聽
Proteins and their self-assembled structures, which constitute the molecular machinery performing many of life鈥檚 chemical processes, are of particular interest. To reduce the level of complexity and enable chemical routes of investigation, I develop synthetic聽peptidomimetic polymers called 鈥減eptoids鈥� which closely mimics the chemical structure and properties of peptides, the biomolecules from which proteins are formed. To mimic larger protein structures, I also employ already available synthetic nanostructures, e.g. nanoparticles and nanoporous membranes, as scaffolds on which biofunctional molecules such as peptoids and others can be attached. This research requires development of new聽nano-characterization techniques, such as the nanoporous waveguide spectroscopy that I am developing, as well as chemical methods of integrating synthetic materials with biomolecules (i.e.聽biofunctionalization). I am therefore also developing reactive聽polyphenols coatingsformed from plant tannins, that can be used to functionalize a diverse range of materials with proteins, peptoids, and other (bio)molecules.聽
Overall, my research is highly interdisciplinary and exemplifies the rapidly emerging fields of 鈥渂ioinspired materials鈥� and 鈥渂iointerfaces鈥�. The research brings together the experimental synthesis of biomimetic molecules and nanostructures, self-assembly and biofunctionalization, as well as biophysical characterization. This expertise may also enable nearer-term applications in biomaterials, sensing (e.g. environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics) and the processing of biomolecules (e.g. purification, biocatalysis).聽聽
Prize And Awards
- Recipient
- 11/10/2022
- Recipient
- 18/3/2016
- Recipient
- 23/4/2015
- Recipient
- 8/2014
Publications
- , Mohammadpour Mozhdeh, , ,
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2026)
- Cheung David L, Messersmith Phillip B,
- Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Vol 27, pp. 25116-25126 (2025)
- Adams Dave J, Ardo帽a Herdeline Ann M, Bianco Simona, Conticello Vincent P, Draper Emily R, , Edler Karen J, Edwards Alison A, Egelman Edward H, Giuri Demetra, Katrantzi Dimitra, Kotova Oxana, Krishnan Retheesh, , Laverty Garry, Lloyd Gareth O, Maguire Oliver, Marchesan Silvia, Marshall Libby, Nilsson Bradley L, 脰zel Mertcan, Piskorz Tomasz K, Pochan Darrin J, Ravoo Bart Jan, Reches Meital, Schneider Joel P, Squires Adam M, Stephen Andrei, Thomson Andrew R, , Wang Huaimin, Yan Xuehai
- Faraday Discussions Vol 260, pp. 145-178 (2025)
- Adams Dave J, Ardona Herdeline Ann M, Conticello Vincent P, , Edler Karen J, Edwards Alison A, Giuri Demetra, Gunnlaugsson Thorfinnur, Kotova Oxana, Krishnan Retheesh, , Laverty Garry, Lloyd Gareth O, Maguire Oliver, Marchesan Silvia, Marshall Libby, Miller Aline F, Nilsson Bradley L, 脰zel Mertcan, Pochan Darrin J, Ravoo Bart Jan, Reches Meital, Schneider Joel P, Squires Adam M, Thomson Andrew R, , Wang Huaimin, Yan Xuehai
- Faraday Discussions Vol 260, pp. 235-251 (2025)
- Jawed Aquib, , 脟ito臒lu Senem, , , Golder Animes K, Pandey Lalit M, Duran Hatice, ,
- ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering Vol 13, pp. 7212-7222 (2025)
- Swanson Hamish W A, Barriales Kenny, Sherman Emmet A, Li Tai-De, , , Ulijn Rein V,
- Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids Vol 41, pp. 7376-7385 (2025)
Professional Activities
- Member of programme committee
- 5/8/2026
- Invited speaker
- 5/6/2026
- Peer reviewer
- 16/2/2026
- Advisor
- 16/1/2026
- Member of programme committee
- 12/1/2026
- Peer reviewer
- 22/11/2025
Projects
- Wark, Alastair (Principal Investigator) Lau, K. H. Aaron (Co-investigator)
- 28-Jan-2025 - 20-Jan-2025
- Lau, K. H. Aaron (Principal Investigator) Wark, Alastair (Co-investigator)
- 06-Jan-2025 - 31-Jan-2026
- Lau, K. H. Aaron (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2025 - 30-Jan-2026
- Lau, K. H. Aaron (Principal Investigator) McCormick, Christopher (Co-investigator)
- 07-Jan-2024 - 06-Jan-2028
- Windmill, James (Principal Investigator) Dragojlovic-Oliveira, Sonja (Co-investigator) Lau, K. H. Aaron (Co-investigator) Wright, George (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 30-Jan-2032
- Phoenix, Vernon (Principal Investigator) Lau, K. H. Aaron (Co-investigator) Patel, Monali Ronak (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 01-Jan-2027
Contact
Dr
K. H. Aaron
Lau
Senior Lecturer
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Email: aaron.lau@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2162