Papers
2026
“Programmable self-assembling cationic lipopeptides for the construction of functional vesicular gene-delivery systems”. Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Alba Ramil-Bouzas, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Ana Rey-Rico, Roberto J. Brea. ChemRxiv 2025, DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-28txq.
“Construction of phospholipid-like vesicles by aqueous aminolysis of acyl thioesters with diamino acids”. Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Lucía Lomba-Riego, Roberto J. Brea. Chem. Eur. J. 2026, DOI: 10.1002/chem.202502881.
“1-Deoxysphingolipids dysregulate membrane properties and cargo trafficking in the early secretory pathway”. Yi-Ting Tsai, Nicolas-Frédéric Lipp, Olivia Seidel, Riya Varma, Aurelie Laguerre, Kristina Solorio-Kirpichyan, Adrian Wong, Roberto J. Brea, Grace H. McGregor, Thekla Cordes, Neal K. Devaraj, Lars Kuerschner, Sonya Neal, Christian M. Metallo, Itay Budin. Cell Chem. Biol. 2026, in press.
“Leaflet specific phospholipid imaging using genetically encoded proximity sensors”. William M. Moore, Roberto J. Brea, Caroline H. Knittel, Ellen Wrightsman, Brandon Hui, Jinchao Lou, Christelle F. Ancajas, Michael D. Best, Christopher J. Obara, Neal K. Devaraj, Itay Budin. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2026, 22 (1), 128-139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-02021-z.
– Highlighted in Nat. Chem. Biol. (January 2026), News and Views. “Unmasking the FACES of membrane bilayers“.
2025
“Poly(O-propargyl-N-amino carbamate), a reactive polymer to underpin biomedical applications of poly(acetylene)s”. Tom Leigh, Greta Bellio, Daniel Crisan, Amit Deb, Alba Ramil-Bouzas, Andrey Romanyuk, Ivan Torreiro-Leon, Ana Rey-Rico, Paco Fernández-Trillo. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2025, in press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500566.
“Abiotic lipid metabolism enables membrane plasticity in artificial cells”. Alessandro Fracassi, Andrés Seoane, Roberto J. Brea, Hong-Guen Lee, Alexander Harjung, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Chem. 2025, 17 (6), 799-807. DOI: 10.1038/s41557-025-01829-5.
– Featured on the cover of Nature Chemistry (June 2025).
“Photochemical synthesis of natural lipids in artificial and living cells”. Peng Ji, Alexander Harjung, Caroline H. Knittel, Alessandro Fracassi, Jiyue Chen, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Commun. 2025, 16 (1), 5068. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60358-4.
“Novel PEI-aldehyde conjugates for gene delivery: Promoting chondrogenic differentiation in human mesenchymal stem cells”. Diego Miranda-Balbuena, Alba Ramil-Bouzas, Naiara Doldán-Mata, Junquera López-Seijas, Juan Fafián-Labora, Ibán Lamas-Criado, Jose-Ramón Caeiro-Rey, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Ana Rey-Rico. Mol. Ther. Nucleic Acids. 2025, 36 (2), 102551. DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2025.102551.
“Diacylation of peptides enables the construction of functional vesicles for drug-carrying liposomes”. Christy J. Cho, Sangyoon Kang, Conrado Pedebos, Syma Khalid, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64 (20), e202421932. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202421932.
“Aqueous synthesis of membrane lipids via amide formation between amphiphilic amines and thioacids”. Jiyue Chen, Lalita Tanwar, Peng Ji, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. ChemSystemsChem 2025, 7 (3), e202400077. DOI: 10.1002/syst.202400077.
“Protocells by spontaneous reaction of cysteine with short-chain thioesters”. Christy J. Cho, Taeyang An, Yei-Chen Lai, Alberto Vázquez-Salazar, Alessandro Fracassi, Roberto J. Brea, Irene A. Chen, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Chem. 2025, 17 (1), 148-155. DOI: 10.1038/s41557-024-01666-y.
– Highlighted in Science (30 October 2024), News. “Lab-created ‘protocells’ provide clues to how life arose“.
2024
“Luminescent Ln(III)-metallopeptide sensors for monitoring Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase B activity in complex biological media”. Rosalía Sánchez-Fernández, Martín Sandá-Ares, Nerea Lamas, Trinidad Cuesta, José Luis Martínez, Paco Fernandez-Trillo, Elena Pazos. ACS Sensors 2024, 9 (10), 5052-5057. DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.4c00986.
“Deciphering the concept of solubility by strategically using the counterion effect in charged molecules”. Roberto J. Brea, Armand Hernández, Alejandro Criado, Jesús Mosquera. J. Chem. Educ. 2024, 101 (8), 3390-3395. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00057.
“Improving corneal permeability of dexamethasone using penetration enhancing agents: First step towards achieving topical drug delivery to the retina”. Abhinav Thareja, Thomas Leigh, Jenni J. Hakkarainen, Helen Hughes, Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Richard J. Blanch, Zubair Ahmed. Int. J. Pharm. 2024, 660 (1-2):124305. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124305.
“Pathogen-responsive delivery of Nisin”. Teyfik Çelen, Christian Anumudu, Taghi Miri, Helen Onyeaka, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Cytogenet. Food Hydrofoil. 2024, 154 (1-2):110076. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2024.110076.
“Rapid formation of non-canonical phospholipid membranes by chemoselective amide-forming ligations with hydroxylamines”. Jiyue Chen, Roberto J. Brea, Alessandro Fracassi, Christy J. Cho, Adrian M. Wong, Marta Salvador-Castell, Sunil K. Sinha, Itay Budin, Neal K. Devaraj. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63 (1), e202311635. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202311635.
2023
“Expanding the clinical and molecular spectrum of FOXG1- and ZBTB18-associated neurodevelopmental disorders”. Alejandro J. Brea-Fernández, Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Elba Iglesias, Pilar Caamaño, Berta Rodríguez Sánchez, Carmen Gómez Lado, Jesús Eiris, Montse Fernández-Prieto, Francisco Barros, Roberto J. Brea, Ángel Carracedo. Cytogenet. Genome Res. 2023, 163 (5-6), 301-306. DOI: 10.1159/000535660.
“Chemoselective esterification of natural and prebiotic 1,2-amino alcohol amphiphiles in water”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Lalita Tanwar, Alessandro Fracassi, Roberto J. Brea, Satyam Khanal, Marta Salvador-Castell, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145 (49), 27149-27159. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c12038.
“Biomimetic construction of phospholipid membranes by direct aminolysis ligations”. Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. Interface Focus 2023, 13, 20230019. DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2023.0019.
“Stimuli-responsive delivery of antimicrobial peptides using polyelectrolyte complexes”. Alexander Antropenko, Frank Caruso, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Macromol. Biosci. 2023, 23 (11), 202300123. DOI: 10.1002/mabi.202300123.
“Nisin:Carboxymethylcellulose polyion complex (PIC) nanoparticles. Preparation and antimicrobial activity”. Teyfik Çelen, Christian Anumudu, Taghi Miri, Helen Onyeaka, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Carbohydr. Polym. 2023, 317, 121032. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121032.
2022
“In situ synthesis of artificial lipids”. Lucía Lomba-Riego, Esther Calvino-Sanles, Roberto J. Brea. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol. 2022, 71, 102210. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.102210.
“Rapid and sequential dual oxime ligation enables de novo formation of functional synthetic membranes from water-soluble precursors”. Judith Flores, Roberto J. Brea, Alejandro Lamas, Alessandro Fracassi, Marta Salvador-Castell, Cong Xu, Carlos R. Baiz, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61 (29), e202200549. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202200549.
“Controlling protein enrichment in lipid sponge phase droplets using SNAP-tag bioconjugation”. Mahta Moinpour, Alessandro Fracassi, Roberto J. Brea, Marta Salvador-Castell, Sudip Pandey, Madison M. Edwards, Soenke Seifert, Simpson Joseph, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. ChemBioChem 2022, 23 (5), e202100624. DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100624.
“Morphological transition and transformation of 2D nanosheets by controlling the balance of π-π stacking interaction and crystalline driving forces”. Heng Li, Liang Han, Yulin Zhu, Hanijan Lai, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Feng He. Mater Horiz. 2022, 9 (11), 2809-2817. DOI: 10.1039/D2MH00891B.
“Morphologically tunable supramolecular rectangular microsheet and microsaw constructed by hierarchical self-assembly based on hydrogen bonds”. Heng Li, Liang Han, Qing Li, Hengtao Wang, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Leilei Tian, Feng He. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2022, 43 (20), 2200368. DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200368.
“Polymer-induced biofilms for enhanced biocatalysis”. Pavan Adoni, Andrey Romanyuk, Tim W. Overton, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Mater. Horiz. 2022, 9 (10), 2592-2602. DOI: 10.1039/D2MH00607C.
2021
“Expression of fatty acyl-CoA ligase drives one-pot de novo synthesis of membrane-bound vesicles in a cell-free transcription-translation system”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Christy J. Cho, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143 (29), 11235-11242. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05394.
“Chemoenzymatic generation of phospholipid membranes mediated by type I fatty acid synthase”. Satyam Khanal, Roberto J. Brea, Michael D. Burkart, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143 (23), 8533-8537. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c02121.
– Featured on the supplementary cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (June 16, 2021).
“Hierarchical chiral supramolecular nanoarchitectonics with molecular detection: Helical structure controls upon self-assembly and coassembly”. Heng Li, Liang Han, Qing Li, Hanjian Lai, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Leilei Tian, Feng He. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2021, 43 (14), 202100690. DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100690.
2020
“Inhibition of NRAS signaling in melanoma through direct depalmitoylation using amphiphilic nucleophiles”. Hetika Vora, Mai Johnson, Roberto J. Brea, Andrew K. Rudd, Neal K. Devaraj. ACS Chem. Biol. 2020, 15 (8), 2079-2086. DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.0c00222.
“Helical polymers for biological and medical applications”. Thomas Leigh, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Nat. Rev. Chem. 2020, 4, 291-310. DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-0180-5.
“Transformation from rod-like to diamond-like micelles by thermally induced nucleation self-assembly”. Heng Li, Liang Han, Yulin Zhu, Paco Fernández-Trillo, Feng He. Macromolecules 2020, 54 (11), 5278-5285. DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00744.
“Lipid sponge droplets as programmable synthetic organelles”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Henrike Niederholtmeyer, Kira A. Podolsky, Rupak Bhattacharya, Jing-Jin Song, Roberto J. Brea, Chu-Hsien Tsai, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2020, 117 (31), 18206-18215. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004408117.
“Site-selective and rewritable labeling of DNA through enzymatic, reversible, and click chemistries”. Andrew A. Wilkinson, Elodie Jagu, Krystian Ubych, Steven Coulthard, Ashleigh E. Rushton, Jack Kennefick, Qiang Su, Robert K. Neely, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. ACS Central Sci. 2020, 6 (4), 525-534. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.9b01023.
“Lipids: chemical tools for their synthesis, modification, and analysis”. Judith Flores, Brittany M. White, Roberto J. Brea, Jeremy M. Baskin, Neal K. Devaraj. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2020, 49 (14), 4602-4614. DOI: 10.1039%2Fd0cs00154f.
“Temperature-dependent reversible morphological transformations in N-oleoyl β-D-galactopyranosylamine”. Mai Johnson, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Roberto J. Brea, Kira A. Podolsky, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124 (26), 5426-5433. DOI: 10.1021%2Facs.jpcb.0c01410.
“Traceless native chemical ligation of lipid-modified peptide surfactants by mixed micelle formation”. Shuaijiang Jin, Roberto J. Brea, Andrew K. Rudd, Stuart P. Moon, Matthew R. Pratt, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11 (1), 2793. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16595-w.
2019
“Poly(triazolyl methacrylate) glycopolymers as potential targeted unimolecular nanocarriers”. Joao Madeira do O, Ruggero Foralosso, Gokhan Yilmaz, Francesca Mastrotto, Patrik J. S. King, Rachael M. Xerri, Yinfeng He, Christopher F. van der Walle, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Charles A. Laughton, Ioanna Styliari, Snow Stolnik, Giuseppe Mantovani. Nanoscale 2019, 11 (44), 21155-21166. DOI: 10.1039/C9NR05836B.
“Poly(Boc-acryloyl hydrazide): The importance of temperature and RAFT agent degradation on its preparation”. Oliver Creese, Pavan Adoni, Guanlong Su, Andrey Romanyuk, Paco Fernandez-Trillo. Polym. Chem. 2019, 10 (41), 5645-5651. DOI: 10.1039/C9PY01222B.
“Design of surface-modified electrodes for the electrochemical adsorption of platinum-based anticancer drugs”. Adam Kolodziej, Cécile S. Le Duff, Julian Bergueiro, Marc Walker, Alexander Keeler, Andrea E. Russell, Paco Fernandez-Trillo, Paramaconi Rodriguez. Chem. Mater. 2019, 31 (19), 8012-8018. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b02382F.
“Messenger RNA delivery by hydrazone-activated polymers”. Marisa Juanes, Oliver Creese, Paco Fernandez-Trillo, Javier Montenegro. Med. Chem. Comm. 2019, 10 (7), 1138-1144. DOI: 10.1039/C9MD00231F.
“Single-chain β-D-glycopyranosylamides of unsaturated fatty acids: self-assembly properties and applications to artificial cell development”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Roberto J. Brea, Jing-Jin Song, Rupak Bhattacharya, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Phys. Chem. B 2019, 123 (17), 3711-3720. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b01055.
“A minimal biochemical route towards de novo formation of synthetic phospholipid membranes”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Roberto J. Brea, Henrike Niederholtmeyer, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Commun. 2019, 10 (1), 300. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08174-x.
– Highlighted in Chem. Eng. News 2019, 97 (6), 8. “Simplified route to phospholipid membranes“.
2018
“Aggregation of Vibrio cholerae by cationic polymers enhances quorum sensing but over-rides biofilm dissipation in response to autoinduction”. Nicolas Perez-Soto, Oliver Creese, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Anne-Marie Krachler. ACS Chem. Biol. 2018, 13 (10), 3021-3029. DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.8b00815.
“Different length hydrazone activated polymers for plasmid DNA condensation and cellular transfection”. Juan M. Priegue, Irene Lostalé-Seijo, Daniel Crisan, Juan R. Granja, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Javier Montenegro. Biomacromolecules 2018, 19 (7), 2638-2649. DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.8b00252.
“Structural determinants of the stability of enzyme‐responsive polyion complex (PIC) nanoparticles targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa’s elastase”. Ignacio Insua, Marion Petit, Lewis D. Blackman, Robert Keogh, Anaïs Pitto-Barry, Rachel K. O’Reilly, Anna F. A. Peacock, Anne Marie Krachler, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. ChemNanoMat 2018, 4 (8), 807-814. DOI: 10.1002/cnma.201800054.
“Amphiphile-mediated depalmitoylation of proteins in living cells”. Andrew K. Rudd, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140 (50), 17374-17378. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b10806.
“Highly stable artificial cells from galactopyranose-derived single-chain amphiphiles”. Roberto J. Brea, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Rupak Bhattacharya, Jing-Jin Song, Sunil K. Sinha, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140 (50), 17356-17360. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b09388.
“Biomimetic generation and remodeling of phospholipid membranes by dynamic imine chemistry”. Andrés Seoane, Roberto J. Brea, Alberto Fuertes, Kira Podolsky, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140 (27), 8388-8391. DOI: 10.1021%2Fjacs.8b04557.
– Featured on the supplementary cover of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (July 11, 2018).
“In situ lipid membrane formation triggered by intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer”. Takafumi Enomoto, Roberto J. Brea, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Neal K. Devaraj. Langmuir 2018, 34 (3), 750-755. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02783.
2017
“De novo vesicle formation and growth: an integrative approach to artificial cells”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. Chem. Sci. 2017, 8 (12), 7912-7922. DOI: 10.1039/C7SC02339A.
“Continual reproduction of self-assembling oligotriazole peptide nanomaterials”. Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. Nat. Commun. 2017, 8 (1), 730. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00849-1.
“Tension promoted sulfur exchange for cellular delivery”. Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj. ACS Cent. Sci. 2017, 3 (6), 524-525. DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.7b00178.
“In situ reconstitution of the adenosine A2A receptor in spontaneously formed synthetic liposomes”. Roberto J. Brea, Christian M. Cole, Brent R. Lyda, Libin Ye, R. Scott Prosser, Roger K. Sunahara, Neal K. Devaraj. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139 (10), 3607-3610. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b12830.
– Highlighted in Chem. Eng. News 2017, 95 (15), 11. “Getting GPCRs into liposomes“.
“Spontaneous phospholipid membrane formation by histidine ligation”. Roberto J. Brea, Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Neal K. Devaraj. Synlett 2017, 28 (1), 108-112. DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1588634.
“Lipopolysaccharide structure impacts the entry kinetics of bacterial outer membrane vesicles into host cells”. Eloise J. O´Donoghue, Natalie Siriasaengtaksin, Douglas F. Browning, Ewa Bielska, Mohammed Hadis, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Luke Alderwick, Sara Jabbari, Anne Marie Krachler. Plos. Pathog. 2017, 13 (11), e1006760. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006760.
“Vesicles in Nature and the laboratory: Elucidation of their biological properties and synthesis of increasingly complex synthetic vesicles”. Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Liam M. Grover, Alex Stephenson-Brown, Paul Harrison, Paula M. Mendes. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56 (12), 3142-3160. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201607825.
“Phosphate-mediated electrochemical adsorption of cisplatin on gold electrodes”. Adam Kolodziej, Marta C. Figueiredo, Marc T.M. Koper, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Paramaconi Rodriguez. Electrochimica Acta. 2017, 248, 409-415. DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.136.
“Dually sensitive dextran-based micelles for methotrexate delivery”. Barbara Blanco-Fernandez, Angel Concheiro, H. Makwana, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Cameron Alexander, Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo. RSC Advances 2017, 7 (24), 14448-14460. DOI: 10.1039/C7RA00696A.
“Polymyxin B containing polyion complex (PIC) nanoparticles: Improving the antimicrobial activity by tailoring the degree of polymerisation of the inert component”. Ignacio Insua, L. Zizmare, A. F. A. F. Peacock, A. M. Krachler, F. Fernandez-Trillo. Sci. Rep. 2017, 7, 9396I. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09667-3.
“Determining the parameters governing the electrochemical stability of thiols and disulfides self-assembled monolayer on gold electrodes in physiological medium”. Adam Kolodziej, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Paramaconi Rodriguez. J. Electroanal. Chem, 2017, 7, 9396I. DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2017.07.039.
“Poly(acryloyl hydrazide), a versatile scaffold for the preparation of functional polymers: synthesis and post- polymerisation modification”. Daniel N. Crisan, Oliver Creese, Ranadeb Ball, Jose Luis Brioso, Ben Martin, Javier Montenegro, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Polym. Chem, 2017, 31, 4576-4584. DOI: 10.1039/C7PY00535K.
“Polymers for binding of the gram-positive oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans”. Eugene P. Magennis, Nora Francini, Francesca Mastrotto, Rosa Catania, Martin Redhead, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, David Bradshaw, David Churchley, Klaus Winzer, Cameron Alexander, Giuseppe Mantovani. PLoS ONE, 2017, 12, e0180087. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180087.
“Engineering microbial physiology with synthetic polymers: cationic polymers induce biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae and downregulate the expression of virulence genes”. Nicolas Perez-Soto, Lauren Moule, Daniel Crisan, Ignacio Insua, Leanne Taylor-Smith, Kerstin Voelz, Anne M. Krachler, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Chem Sci. 2017, 8, 5291-5298. DOI: 10.1039/C7SC00615B.
“Preparation and antimicrobial evaluation of polyion complex (PIC) nanoparticles loaded with polymyxin B”. Nicolas Perez-Soto, Lauren Moule, Daniel Crisan, Ignacio Insua, Leanne Taylor-Smith, Kerstin Voelz, Anne M. Krachler, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Eur. Polym. J. 2017, 87, 478-486. DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2016.08.023.
2016
“Nonenzymatic biomimetic remodeling of phospholipids in synthetic liposomes”. Roberto J. Brea, Andrew K. Rudd, Neal K. Devaraj. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2016, 113 (31), 8589-8594. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605541113.
– Highlighted in Chem. Eng. News 2016, 94 (30), 10. “Synthetic cell membranes remodeled chemically“.
“Dendrimer mediated clustering of bacteria: improved aggregation and evaluation of bacterial response and viability”. Emma Leire, Sandra P. Amaral, Iria Louzao, Klaus Winzer, Cameron Alexander, Eduardo Fernandez-Megia, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Biomater. Sci. 2016, 4, 998-1006. DOI: 10.1039/C6BM00079G.
“In situ functionalized polymers for siRNA delivery”. Juan M. Priegue, Daniel N. Crisan, Dr. José Martínez-Costas, Juan R. Granja, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Javier Montenegro. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 7492-7495. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201601441.
“Polyion complex (PIC) particles: Preparation and biomedical applications”. Ignacio Insua, Andrew Wilkinson, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Eur. Polym. J. 2016, 81, 198-215. DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2016.06.003.
“Enzyme-responsive polyion complex (PIC) nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of antimicrobial polymers”. Ignacio Insua, Evangelos Liamas, Zhenyu Zhang, Anna F. A. Peacock, Anne Marie Krachler, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Polym. Chem. 2016, 7, 2684-2690. DOI: 10.1039/C6PY00146G.
2015
“Spontaneous reconstitution of functional transmembrane proteins during bioorthogonal phospholipid membrane synthesis”. Christian M. Cole, Roberto J. Brea, Young Hun Kim, Michael D. Hardy, Jerry Yang, Neal K. Devaraj. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54 (43), 12738-12742. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201504339.
“Towards self-assembled hybrid artificial cells: Novel bottom-up approaches to functional synthetic membranes”. Roberto J. Brea, Michael D. Hardy, Neal K. Devaraj. Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 21 (36), 12564-12570. DOI: 10.1002/chem.201501229.
“Fundamentals, achievements and challenges in the electrochemical sensing of pathogens”. Javier Monzó, Ignacio Insua, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Paramaconi Rodriguez. Analyst 2015, 140 (21), 7116-7128. DOI: 10.1039/C5AN01330E.
“Cationic polymer mediated bacterial clustering: Cell-adhesive properties of homo- and copolymers”. Iria Louzao, Cheng Sui, Klaus Winzer, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Cameron Alexander. Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. 2015, 95, 47-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2015.05.026.
2014
“In situ vesicle formation by native chemical ligation”. Roberto J. Brea, Christian M. Cole, Neal K. Devaraj. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53 (51), 14102-14105. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201408538.
– Highlighted in Chem. Eng. News 2014, 92 (44), 41. “Chemical ligation builds synthetic lipid membranes“.
“Bacteria-instructed synthesis of polymers for self-selective microbial binding and labelling”. E. Peter Magennis, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Cheng Sui, Sebastian G. Spain, David J. Bradshaw, David Churchley, Giuseppe Mantovani, Klaus Winzer, Cameron Alexander. Nat. Mater. 2014, 13 (7), 748-755. DOI: 10.1038/nmat3949.
“Programmed assembly of polymer-DNA conjugate nanoparticles with optical readout and sequence-specific activation of biorecognition”. Johannes P. Magnusson, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Giovanna Sicilia, Sebastian G. Spain, Cameron Alexander. Nanoscale 2014, 6 (4), 2368-2374. DOI: 10.1039/C3NR04952C.
2013
“Bacteria clustering by polymers induces the expression of quorum-sensing-controlled phenotypes”. Leong T. Lui, Xuan Xue, Cheng Sui, Alan Brown, David I. Pritchard, Nigel Halliday, Klaus Winzer, Steven M. Howdle, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Natalio Krasnogor, Cameron Alexander. Nat. Chem. 2013, 5 (12), 1058-1065. DOI: 10.1038/nchem.1793.
“Programmable polymer-DNA hydrogels with dual input and multiscale responses”. Giovanna Sicilia, Christine Grainger-Boultby, Nora Francini, Johannes P. Magnusson, Aram O. Saeed, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Sebastian G. Spain, Cameron Alexander. Biomater. Sci. 2013, 2 (2), 203-211. DOI: 10.1039/C3BM60126A.
“Transport in epithelial cells: Pathway switching through bioconjugation”. Robyn Fowler, Driton Vllasaliu, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Martin Garnett, Cameron Alexander, Helen Horsley, Bryan Smith, Ian Whitcombe, Mike Eaton, Snow Stolnik. Small 2013, 9 (19), 3282-3294. DOI: 10.1002/smll.201202623.
2012
“Self-assembling properties of all γ-cyclic peptides containing sugar amino acid residues”. Arcadio Guerra, Roberto J. Brea, Manuel Amorín, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Org. Biomol. Chem. 2012, 10 (44), 8762-8766. DOI: 10.1039/c2ob26612a.
“Directed assembly of inorganic polyoxometalate-based micrometer-scale tubular architectures by using optical control”. Geoffrey J. T. Cooper, Richard W. Bowman, E. Peter Magennis, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo, Cameron Alexander, Miles J. Padgett, Leroy Cronin. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51 (51), 12754-12758. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201204405.
“Click chemistry with polymers, dendrimers, and hydrogels for drug delivery”. Enrique Lallana, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Ana Sousa-Hervés, Ricardo Riguera, Eduardo Fernández-Megía. Pharm. Res. 2012, 29 (4), 902-921. DOI: 10.1007/s11095-012-0683-y.
“Well-defined polymeric vesicles with high stability and modulation of cell uptake by a simple coating protocol”. Gökçen Yaşayan, Martin Redhead, Johannes P. Magnusson, Sebastian G. Spain, Stephanie Allen, Martyn Davies, Cameron Alexander, Francisco Fernández-Trillo. Polym. Chem. 2012, 3 (9), 3282-3294. DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20352A.
2011
“Regioisomeric control induced by DABCO coordination to rotatable self-assembled bis- and tetraporphyrin α,γ-cyclic octapeptide dimers”. Laura P. Hernández-Eguía, Roberto J. Brea, Luis Castedo, Pablo Ballester, Juan R. Granja. Chem. Eur. J. 2011, 17 (4), 1220-1229. DOI: 10.1002/chem.201002271.
“Highly efficient and directional energy transfer homo- and heterodimeric materials based on fluorescently derivatized α,γ-cyclic octapeptides”. Roberto J. Brea, María Jesús Pérez-Alvite, Michele Panciera, Manuel Mosquera, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Chem. Asian J. 2011, 6 (1), 110-121. DOI: 10.1002/asia.201000545.
“Towards functional bionanomaterials based on self-assembling cyclic peptide nanotubes”. Roberto J. Brea, César Reiriz, Juan R. Granja. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2010, 39 (5), 1448-1456. DOI: 10.1039/B805753M.
“Synthetic polymers for simultaneous bacterial sequestration and quorum sense interference”. Xuan Xue, George Pasparakis, Nigel Halliday, Klaus Winzer, Steven M. Howdle, Christopher J. Cramphorn, Neil R. Cameron, Paul M. Gardner, Benjamin G. Davis, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Cameron Alexander. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50 (42), 9852-9856. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201103130.
“Dendritic MRI contrast agents: An efficient prelabeling approach based on CuAAC”. Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Jesús Pacheco-Torres, Juan Correa, Paloma Ballesteros, Pilar López-Larrubia, Sebastián Cerdán, Ricardo Riguera, Eduardo Fernández-Megía. Biomacromolecules 2011, 12 (8), 2902-2907. DOI: 10.1021/bm2004466.
“Click chemistry for drug delivery nanosystems“. Enrique Lallana, Ana Sousa-Herves, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Ricardo Riguera, Eduardo Fernández-Megía. Pharm. Res. 2011, 29 (1), 1-34. DOI: 10.1007/s11095-011-0568-5.
“Responsive hybrid block co-polymer conjugates of proteins-controlled architecture to modulate substrate specificity and solution behaviour”. Gökçen Yaşayan, Aram O. Saeed, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Stephanie Allen, Martyn C. Davies, Abdulhakim Jangher, Alison Paul, Kristofer J. Thurecht, Stephen M. King, Ralf Schweins, Peter C. Griffiths, Johannes P. Magnusson, Cameron Alexander. Polym. Chem. 2011, 2 (7), 1567-1578. DOI: 10.1039/C1PY00128K.
2010
“A computational study of liposome logic: Towards cellular computing from the bottom up”. James Smaldon, Francisco J. Romero-Campero, Francisco Fernández Trillo, Marian Gheorghe, Cameron Alexander, Natalio Krasnogor. Syst. Synth. Biol. 2010, 4 (3), 157-179. DOI: 10.1007/s11693-010-9060-5.
“Synthetic polymers for biopharmaceutical delivery”. Johannes Paul Magnusson, Aram Omer Saeed, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Cameron Alexander. Polym. Chem. 2010, 2 (1), 48-59. DOI: 10.1039/C0PY00210K.
“Evaluation of amino acids as chiral ligands for the enantiodifferentiation of carbohydrates by TOCSY NMR”. Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Eduardo Fernández-Megia, Ricardo Riguera. J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75 (11), 3878-3881. DOI: 10.1021/jo1004263.
2009
“α,γ-Peptide nanotube templating of one-dimensional parallel fullerene arrangements”. César Reiriz, Roberto J. Brea, Rocío Arranz, José L. Carrascosa, Alejandra Garibotti, Brendan Manning, José M. Valpuesta, Ramón Eritja, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131 (32), 11335-11337. DOI: 10.1021/ja904548q.
“Reversible immobilization onto PEG-based emulsion-templated porous polymers by co-assembly of stimuli responsive polymers”. Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Jan C. M. van Hest, Jens C. Thies, Thierry Michon, Neal R. Cameron. Adv. Mater. 2009, 21 (1), 55-59. DOI: 10.1002/adma.200801986.
2008
“Nanotubos ciclopeptídicos: un camino alternativo para la preparación prêt-à-porter de estructuras tubulares diseñadas a medida”. Roberto J. Brea, Juan R. Granja. An. Quím. 2008, 104 (4), 257-264.
– Featured on the cover of Anales de Química (October-November, 2008).
“Fine-tuning the transition temperature of a stimuli-responsive polymer by a simple blending procedure”. Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Jan C. M. van Hest, Jens C. Thies, Thierry Michon, Ralf Weberskirch, Neal R. Cameron. Chem. Commun. 2008, 19, 2230-2232. DOI: 10.1039/B800266E.
2007
“Large-diameter self-assembled dimers of α,γ-cyclic peptides, with the nanotubular solid-state structure of cyclo-[(L-Leu-D-MeN-γ-Acp)4-]·4CHCl2COOH”. Roberto J. Brea, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Chem. Commun. 2007, 31, 3267-3269. DOI: 10.1039/B703659K.
“Electron transfer in Me-blocked heterodimeric α,γ-peptide nanotubular C60-TTF dyads”. Roberto J. Brea, M. Ángeles Herranz, Luis Sánchez, Luis Castedo, Wolfgang Seitz, Dirk M.Guldi, Nazario Martín, Juan R. Granja. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007, 104 (13), 5291-5294. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0609506104.
“Controlling multiple fluorescent signal output in cyclic peptide-based supramolecular systems”. Roberto J. Brea, M. Eugenio Vázquez, Manuel Mosquera, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129 (6), 1653-1657. DOI: 10.1021/ja066885h.
“Elastin-based side-chain polymers: Improved synthesis via RAFT and stimulus responsive behavior”. Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Alex Durealt, Jonathan P. M. Bayley, Jan C. M. van Hest, Jens C. Thies, Thierry Michon, Ralf Weberskirch, Neal R. Cameron. Macromolecules 2007, 40 (17), 6094-6099. DOI: 10.1021/ma070527x.
2006
“Synthesis of ω-(hetero)arylalkynylated α-amino acid by Sonogashira-type reactions in aqueous media”. Roberto J. Brea, Mª Pilar López-Deber, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71 (20), 7870-7873. DOI: 10.1021/jo061300n.
“Self-assembling cyclic α,γ-tetrapeptides”. Manuel Amorín, Roberto J. Brea, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Heterocycles 2006, 67 (2), 575-583. DOI: 10.3987/COM-05-S(T)75.
“Synthesis of marine polyacetylenes callyberynes A-C by transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions to sp centers”. Susana López, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Pilar Midón, Luis Castedo, Carlos Saá. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 71 (7), 2802-2810. DOI: 10.1021/jo052609u.
2005
“The smallest α,γ-peptide nanotubulet segments: cyclic α,γ-tetrapeptide dimers”. Manuel Amorín, Roberto J. Brea, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Org. Lett. 2005, 7 (21), 4681-4684. DOI: 10.1021/ol0518885.
“Methyl-blocked dimeric α,γ-peptide nanotube segments: formation of a peptide heterodimer through backbone-backbone interactions”. Roberto J. Brea, Manuel Amorín, Luis Castedo, Juan R. Granja. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44 (35), 5710-5713. DOI: 10.1002/anie.200501555.
“First stereoselective syntheses of (-)-siphonodiol and (-)-tetrahydrosiphonodiol, bioactive polyacetylenes from marine sponges”. Susana López, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Pilar Midón, Luis Castedo, Carlos Saá. J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70 (16), 6346-6352. DOI: 10.1021/jo050807f.
2003
“Synthesis of callyberynes A and B, polyacetylenic hydrocarbons from marine sponges”. Susana López, Francisco Fernández-Trillo, Luis Castedo, Carlos Saá. Org. Lett. 2003, 5 (20), 3725-3728. DOI: 10.1021/ol0354270.
Book Chapters
“Chemical tools for the synthesis and application of artificial lipids”. Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Brenda Portasany, Roberto J. Brea. Synthesis and applications of carbohydrates, lipids, and steroids; Ed. Ahindra Nag; CRC Press, Boca Ratón (USA), 2025; 256-277. DOI: 10.1201/9781003437413-10.
“Bioorthogonal tools for the synthesis, modification, and analysis of lipids”. Federica A. Souto-Trinei, Neal K. Devaraj, Roberto J. Brea. Abiotic reactions in live environments; Eds. José Luis Mascareñas, María Tomás-Gamasa; Georg Thieme Verlag, Sttuttgart (Germany), 2024; 271-303. DOI: 10.1055/sos-SD-242-00191.
“Supramolecular assembly and mesophase behavior of glycopyranose-derived single-chain amphiphiles”. Ahanjit Bhattacharya, Roberto J. Brea. Molecular assemblies: characterization and applications (ACS Symposium Series #1355); Ed. Ramanathan Nagarajan; American Chemical Society, Washington (USA), 2020; 15-30. DOI: 10.1021/bk-2020-1355.ch002.
“Diels-Alder and inverse Diels-Alder reactions”. Roberto J. Brea, Neal K. Devaraj.Chemoselective and bioorthogonal ligation reactions: concepts and applications; Eds. Russ Algar, Phil Dawson, Igor Medintz; Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (Germany), 2017, 67-95. DOI: 10.1002/9783527683451.ch3.
“Bioresponsive polyplexes and micelleplexes“. Cameron Alexander, Francisco Fernandez-Trillo. Smart Materials for Drug Delivery. Eds. C. Alvarez-Lorenzo, A. Concheiro; Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge (United Kingdom), 2013; 256-282. DOI: 10.1039/9781849736800-00256.
“Self-assembling cyclic peptide-based nanomaterials”. Roberto J. Brea. Ideas in Chemistry and Molecular Sciences: Advances in Nanotechnology, Materials and Devices; Ed. Bruno Pignataro; Wiley-VCH, Weinheim (Germany), 2010; 3-22. DOI: 10.1002/9783527630530.ch1.
“Self-assembly of cyclic peptides in hydrogen-bonded nanotubes”. Roberto J. Brea, Juan R. Granja. Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; Eds. James A. Schwarz, CristianI. Contescu, Karol Putyera; Marcel Dekker Inc., New York (USA), 2004; 3439-3457. DOI: 10.1081/E-ENN 120009221.
Patents
Francisco Fernández-Trillo; Timothy William Overton; Pavan Rao Adoni; Omar Nicholas Edward Huneidi. WO2021209765. Methods and products. United Kingdom. 21/10/2021. University of Birminghan.
Neal Krishna Devaraj; Andrew Rudd; Roberto Javier Brea Fernández. WO 2021/030703. Depalmitoylating compositions and the use thereof. United States of America. 18/02/2021. University of California, San Diego. Commercially in use by Palm Therapeutics (USA).
Roberto Javier Brea Fernández; Andrew Rudd; Neal Krishna Devaraj. WO 2019/178166. Amphiphilic thiol compounds and uses thereof. United States of America. 19/09/2019. University of California, San Diego. Commercially in use by Palm Therapeutics (USA).
Neal Krishna Devaraj; Christy Jihyun Cho; Roberto Javier Brea Fernández. SD2020-110. Self-assembling lipopeptide nanocarriers for targeted cellular uptake. United States of America. 06/09/2019. University of California, San Diego.
Neal Krishna Devaraj; Andrew Rudd; Roberto Javier Brea Fernández. US 62/887195. HRas selective depalmitoylating compositions and the use thereof. United States of America. 15/08/2019. University of California, San Diego. Commercially in use by Palm Therapeutics (USA).
Andrew Rudd; Roberto Javier Brea Fernández; Neal K. Devaraj. US 62/740256. Prodrug strategy for in vivo depalmitoylation of proteins. United States of America. 02/10/2018. University of California, San Diego. Commercially in use by Palm Therapeutics (USA).
Roberto Javier Brea Fernández; Christian Cole; Brent Lyda; Roger Sunahara; Neal Krishna Devaraj. WO 2018/160876. In situ lipid synthesis for protein reconstitution. United States of America. 07/09/2018. University of California, San Diego.
Roberto Javier Brea Fernández; Andrew Rudd; Neal Krishna Devaraj. US 62/641828. Lipids for treatment of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses. United States of America. 12/03/2018. University of California, San Diego. Commercially in use by Palm Therapeutics (USA).
Javier Montenegro García; Francisco Fernández-Trillo. WO2017102894. Aqueous synthesis and in-situ rapid screening of amphiphilic polymers. Spain. 22/06/2017. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, University of Birminghan.
Roberto J. Brea Fernández, Paloma Ballesteros García, Juan R. Granja Guillán, Elena Pérez Mayoral, Luis Castedo Expósito, Jordi Soler Padrós, César Reiriz Armental. ES 2354320. Ciclopéptidos marcados magnéticamente con complejos de lantánidos. Spain. 14/03/2011. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Universidad Nacional Educación a Distancia.
BioNanoChem 