Dr Patrycja Brook

Royal Society University Research Fellow

What do you do?

I completed my PhD in Chemistry at Newcastle University, working with Professor Anthony Harriman on multicomponent molecules under dynamic control. I then moved to Durham University, Physics, to work with Professor Andy Monkman on blue hyperfluorescent OLED devices.

Subsequently, I moved to Durham University Chemistry to work with Professor Robert Pal on the development of the world's first CPL microscope* and multiphoton spectroscopy** of molecular nanomachines. I was awarded the Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2022 and started my own independent research group in 2023.

*a microscope for detecting circularly polarised light (CPL), which can tell us about the structure of a molecule. This helps with cancer cell detection.

**a technique for using safe, low-energy light, delivered by specialised lasers, to manipulate molecules. This is used to activate the nanomachines.

How are you involved in this area of science? 

I have worked on the development of the world-first CPL-microscope and multiphoton spectroscopy protocols for the molecular nanomachines.

What do you love about this topic?

It is a very exciting and challenging project from an organic and physical chemists' perspective, as well as the cell imaging to study the cell membrane opening by the light activated nanomachines. The topic is so interesting not only because we get to do some interesting science but also due to its potential real life applications!

How does this work deliver real-world impact?

Our experiments have shown that the nanomachines can selectively kill cells when activated with biologically safe light. This is a very exciting prospect for future cancer therapies.