Imperial College London

PROFESSOR NICHOLAS LONG

Faculty of Natural SciencesDepartment of Chemistry

Sir Edward Frankland BP Chair -Inorganic Chemistry
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 5781n.long Website CV

 
 
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Location

 

501jMolecular Sciences Research HubWhite City Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Publication Type
Year
to

302 results found

Aboagye E, Teh JH, Amgheib A, Fu R, Barnes C, Abrahams J, Ashek A, Wang N, Yang Z, Mansoorudeen M, Long NJ, Aboagye Eet al., 2023, Evaluation of [18F]AlF-EMP-105 for molecular imaging of 2 C-Met, Pharmaceutics, Vol: 15, Pages: 1-13, ISSN: 1999-4923

C-Met is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed in a range of different cancer types, and has been identified as a potential biomarker for cancer imaging and therapy. Previously, a 68Ga-labelled peptide, [68Ga]Ga-EMP-100, has shown promise for imaging c-Met in renal cell carcinoma in humans. Herein, we report the synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of an [18F]AlF-labelled analogue, [18F]AlF-EMP-105, for c-Met imaging by positron emission tomography. EMP-105 was radiolabelled using the aluminium-[18F]fluoride method with 46 ± 2% RCY and >95% RCP in 35–40 min. In vitro evaluation showed that [18F]AlF-EMP-105 has a high specificity for c-Met-expressing cells. Radioactive metabolite analysis at 5 and 30 min post-injection revealed that [18F]AlF-EMP-105 has good blood stability, but undergoes transformation—transchelation, defluorination or demetallation—in the liver and kidneys. PET imaging in non-tumour-bearing mice showed high radioactive accumulation in the kidneys, bladder and urine, demonstrating that the tracer is cleared predominantly as [18F]fluoride by the renal system. With its high specificity for c-Met expressing cells, [18F]AlF-EMP-105 shows promise as a potential diagnostic tool for imaging cancer.

Journal article

Lim Kee Chang W, Chan T, Raguseo F, Mishra A, Chattenton D, de Rosales RTM, Long N, Morse Set al., 2023, Rapid short-pulses of focused ultrasound and microbubbles deliver a range of agent sizes to the brain, Scientific Reports, Vol: 13, ISSN: 2045-2322

Focused ultrasound and microbubbles can non-invasively and locally deliver therapeutics and imaging agents across the blood–brain barrier. Uniform treatment and minimal adverse bioeffects are critical to achieve reliable doses and enable safe routine use of this technique. Towards these aims, we have previously designed a rapid short-pulse ultrasound sequence and used it to deliver a 3 kDa model agent to mouse brains. We observed a homogeneous distribution in delivery and blood–brain barrier closing within 10 min. However, many therapeutics and imaging agents are larger than 3 kDa, such as antibody fragments and antisense oligonucleotides. Here, we evaluate the feasibility of using rapid short-pulses to deliver higher-molecular-weight model agents. 3, 10 and 70 kDa dextrans were successfully delivered to mouse brains, with decreasing doses and more heterogeneous distributions with increasing agent size. Minimal extravasation of endogenous albumin (66.5 kDa) was observed, while immunoglobulin (~ 150 kDa) and PEGylated liposomes (97.9 nm) were not detected. This study indicates that rapid short-pulses are versatile and, at an acoustic pressure of 0.35 MPa, can deliver therapeutics and imaging agents of sizes up to a hydrodynamic diameter between 8 nm (70 kDa dextran) and 11 nm (immunoglobulin). Increasing the acoustic pressure can extend the use of rapid short-pulses to deliver agents beyond this threshold, with little compromise on safety. This study demonstrates the potential for deliveries of higher-molecular-weight therapeutics and imaging agents using rapid short-pulses.

Journal article

Hamill JM, Ismael A, Al-Jobory A, Bennett TLR, Alshahrani M, Wang X, Akers-Douglas M, Wilkinson LA, Robinson BJ, Long NJ, Lambert C, Albrecht Tet al., 2023, Quantum Interference and Contact Effects in the Thermoelectric Performance of Anthracene-Based Molecules., J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces, Vol: 127, Pages: 7484-7491, ISSN: 1932-7447

We report on the single-molecule electronic and thermoelectric properties of strategically chosen anthracene-based molecules with anchor groups capable of binding to noble metal substrates, such as gold and platinum. Specifically, we study the effect of different anchor groups, as well as quantum interference, on the electric conductance and the thermopower of gold/single-molecule/gold junctions and generally find good agreement between theory and experiments. All molecular junctions display transport characteristics consistent with coherent transport and a Fermi alignment approximately in the middle of the highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap. Single-molecule results are in agreement with previously reported thin-film data, further supporting the notion that molecular design considerations may be translated from the single- to many-molecule devices. For combinations of anchor groups where one binds significantly more strongly to the electrodes than the other, the stronger anchor group appears to dominate the thermoelectric behavior of the molecular junction. For other combinations, the choice of electrode material can determine the sign and magnitude of the thermopower. This finding has important implications for the design of thermoelectric generator devices, where both n- and p-type conductors are required for thermoelectric current generation.

Journal article

Long NJ, Bhargava S, 2022, Professor Edward Abel, FRSC, CBE (1931-2021), DALTON TRANSACTIONS, Vol: 51, Pages: 16781-16783, ISSN: 1477-9226

Journal article

Cooper SM, Siakalli C, White AJP, Frei A, Miller PW, Long NJet al., 2022, Synthesis and anti-microbial activity of a new series of bis(diphosphine) rhenium(v) dioxo complexes, DALTON TRANSACTIONS, Vol: 51, Pages: 12791-12795, ISSN: 1477-9226

Journal article

Wilkinson LA, Bennett TLR, Grace IM, Hamill J, Wang X, Au-Yong S, Ismael A, Jarvis SP, Hou S, Albrecht T, Cohen LF, Lambert C, Robinson BJ, Long NJet al., 2022, Assembly, structure and thermoelectric properties of 1,1 '-dialkynylferrocene 'hinges', CHEMICAL SCIENCE, ISSN: 2041-6520

Journal article

Frei A, Rigby A, Yue TTC, Firth G, Ma MT, Long NJet al., 2022, To chelate thallium(i) - synthesis and evaluation of Kryptofix-based chelators for Tl-201, DALTON TRANSACTIONS, Vol: 51, Pages: 9039-9048, ISSN: 1477-9226

Journal article

Cooper SM, White AJP, Eykyn TR, Ma MT, Miller PW, Long NJet al., 2022, N-Centered Tripodal Phosphine Re(V) and Tc(V) Oxo Complexes: Revisiting a [3+2] Mixed-Ligand Approach, INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Vol: 61, Pages: 8000-8014, ISSN: 0020-1669

Journal article

Li Z, Li B, Wu X, Sheppard SA, Zhang S, Gao D, Long NJ, Zhu Zet al., 2022, Organometallic-functionalized interfaces for highly efficient inverted perovskite solar cells, SCIENCE, Vol: 376, Pages: 416-+, ISSN: 0036-8075

Journal article

Bennett TLR, Alshammari M, Au-Yong S, Almutlg A, Wang X, Wilkinson LA, Albrecht T, Jarvis SP, Cohen LF, Ismael A, Lambert CJ, Robinson BJ, Long NJet al., 2022, Multi-component self-assembled molecular-electronic films: towards new high-performance thermoelectric systems, CHEMICAL SCIENCE, Vol: 13, Pages: 5176-5185, ISSN: 2041-6520

Journal article

Sheppard SA, Bennett TLR, Long NJ, 2022, Development and Characterisation of Highly Conjugated Functionalised Ferrocenylene Macrocycles, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Vol: 2022, ISSN: 1434-1948

Journal article

Bourke S, Urbano L, Midson MM, Olona A, Qazi-Choudhry B, Panamarova M, Valderrama F, Long NJ, Dailey L-A, Green Met al., 2022, Nearly monodispersed, emission-tuneable conjugated polymer nanoparticles, Sensors & Diagnostics, Vol: 1, Pages: 1185-1188

<jats:p>We describe the synthesis of monodispersed, silica encapsulated conjugated polymer nanoparticles, their colour tunability and use in imaging HeLa cells.</jats:p>

Journal article

Braga M, Leow CH, Gil JH, Teh JH, Carroll L, Long NJ, Tang M-X, Aboagye EOet al., 2021, Investigating CXCR4 expression of tumor cells and the vascular compartment: A multimodal approach, PLoS One, Vol: 16, Pages: 1-21, ISSN: 1932-6203

The C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is G protein-coupled receptor that upon binding to its cognate ligand, can lead to tumor progression. Several CXCR4-targeted therapies are currently under investigation, and with it comes the need for imaging agents capable of accurate depiction of CXCR4 for therapeutic stratification and monitoring. PET agents enjoy the most success, but more cost-effective and radiation-free approaches such as ultrasound (US) imaging could represent an attractive alternative. In this work, we developed a targeted microbubble (MB) for imaging of vascular CXCR4 expression in cancer. A CXCR4-targeted MB was developed through incorporation of the T140 peptide into the MB shell. Binding properties of the T140-MB and control, non-targeted MB (NT-MB) were evaluated in MDA-MB-231 cells where CXCR4 expression was knocked-down (via shRNA) through optical imaging, and in the lymphoma tumor models U2932 and SuDHL8 (high and low CXCR4 expression, respectively) by US imaging. PET imaging of [18F]MCFB, a tumor-penetrating CXCR4-targeted small molecule, was used to provide whole-tumor CXCR4 readouts. CXCR4 expression and microvessel density were performed by immunohistochemistry analysis and western blot. T140-MB were formed with similar properties to NT-MB and accumulated sensitively and specifically in cells according to their CXCR4 expression. In NOD SCID mice, T140-MB persisted longer in tumors than NT-MB, indicative of target interaction, but showed no difference between U2932 and SuDHL8. In contrast, PET imaging with [18F]MCFB showed a marked difference in tumor uptake at 40–60 min post-injection between the two tumor models (p<0.05). Ex vivo analysis revealed that the large differences in CXCR4 expression between the two models are not reflected in the vascular compartment, where the MB are restricted; in fact, microvessel density and CXCR4 expression in the vasculature was comparable between U2932 and SuDHL8 tumors. In conclusion, we success

Journal article

Baker CA, Romain C, Long NJ, 2021, Cation-pi interactions enabling hard/soft Ti/Ag heterobimetallic cooperativity in lactide ring-opening polymerisation, CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS, Vol: 57, Pages: 12524-12527, ISSN: 1359-7345

Journal article

Teh JH, Braga M, Allott L, Barnes C, Hernandez-Gil J, Tang M-X, Aboagye EO, Long NJet al., 2021, A kit-based aluminium-[F-18]fluoride approach to radiolabelled microbubbles, Chemical Communications, Vol: 57, Pages: 11677-11680, ISSN: 1359-7345

The production of 18F-labelled microbubbles (MBs) via the aluminium-[18F]fluoride ([18F]AlF) radiolabelling method and facile inverse-electron-demand Diels–Alder (IEDDA) ‘click’ chemistry is reported. An [18F]AlF-NODA-labelled tetrazine was synthesised in excellent radiochemical yield (>95% RCY) and efficiently conjugated to a trans-cyclooctene (TCO) functionalised phospholipid (40–50% RCY), which was incorporated into MBs (40–50% RCY). To demonstrate the potential of producing 18F-labelled MBs for clinical studies, we also describe a kit-based approach which is amenable for use in a hospital radiopharmacy setting.

Journal article

Walter ERH, Cooper SM, Boyle JJ, Long NJet al., 2021, Enzyme-activated probes in optical imaging: a focus on atherosclerosis, DALTON TRANSACTIONS, Vol: 50, Pages: 14486-14497, ISSN: 1477-9226

Journal article

Osborne BE, Yue TTC, Waters ECT, Baark F, Southworth R, Long NJet al., 2021, Synthesis and ex vivo biological evaluation of gallium-68 labelled NODAGA chelates assessing cardiac uptake and retention, DALTON TRANSACTIONS, Vol: 50, Pages: 14695-14705, ISSN: 1477-9226

Journal article

Wu Y, Chau H, Thor W, Chan KHY, Ma X, Chan W, Long NJ, Wong Ket al., 2021, Solid‐Phase Peptide Macrocyclization and Multifunctionalization via Dipyrrin Construction, Angewandte Chemie, Vol: 133, Pages: 20463-20469, ISSN: 0044-8249

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>We introduce a new and highly efficient synthetic protocol towards multifunctional fluorescent cyclopeptides by solid‐phase peptide macrocyclization via dipyrrin construction, with full scope of proteinogenic amino acids and different ring sizes. Various bicyclic peptides can be created by dipyrrin‐based crosslinking and double dipyrrin‐ring formation. The embedded dipyrrin can be either transformed to fluorescent BODIPY and then utilized as cancer‐selective targeted protein imaging probe in vitro, or directly employed as a selective metal sensor in aqueous media. This work provides a valuable addition to the peptide macrocyclization toolbox, and a blueprint for the development of multifunctional dipyrrin linkers in cyclopeptides for a wide range of potential bioapplications.</jats:p>

Journal article

Wu Y, Chau H-F, Thor W, Chan KHY, Ma X, Chan W-L, Long NJ, Wong K-Let al., 2021, Solid-Phase Peptide Macrocyclization and Multifunctionalization via Dipyrrin Construction, ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION, Vol: 60, Pages: 20301-20307, ISSN: 1433-7851

Journal article

Jiang L, Mak H-N, Walter ERH, Wong W-T, Wong K-L, Long NJet al., 2021, A fluorescent probe for the discrimination of oxidation states of palladium, CHEMICAL SCIENCE, Vol: 12, Pages: 9977-9982, ISSN: 2041-6520

Journal article

Chau H-F, Wu Y, Fok W-Y, Thor W, Cho WC-S, Ma P, Lin J, Mak N-K, Bunzli J-CG, Jiang L, Long NJ, Lung HL, Wong K-Let al., 2021, Lanthanide-Based Peptide-Directed Visible/Near-Infrared Imaging and Inhibition of LMP1, JACS AU, Vol: 1, Pages: 1034-1043

Journal article

Boltersdorf T, Gavins FNE, Long NJ, 2021, Long-lived lanthanide emission via a pH-sensitive and switchable LRET complex, CHEMICAL SCIENCE, ISSN: 2041-6520

Journal article

Walter E, Ge Y, Mason J, Boyle J, Long Net al., 2021, A coumarin-porphyrin FRET break-apart probe for heme oxygenase-1, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol: 143, Pages: 6460-6469, ISSN: 0002-7863

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a vital enzyme in humans that primarily regulates free heme concentrations. The overexpression of HO-1 is commonly associated with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases including atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke. Currently, there are no known chemical probes to detect HO-1 activity, limiting its potential as an early diagnostic/prognostic marker in these serious diseases. Reported here are the design, synthesis, and photophysical and biological characterization of a coumarin–porphyrin FRET break-apart probe to detect HO-1 activity, Fe–L1. We designed Fe–L1 to “break-apart” upon HO-1-catalyzed porphyrin degradation, perturbing the efficient FRET mechanism from a coumarin donor to a porphyrin acceptor fluorophore. Analysis of HO-1 activity using Escherichia coli lysates overexpressing hHO-1 found that a 6-fold increase in emission intensity at 383 nm was observed following incubation with NADPH. The identities of the degradation products following catabolism were confirmed by MALDI-MS and LC–MS, showing that porphyrin catabolism was regioselective at the α-position. Finally, through the analysis of Fe–L2, we have shown that close structural analogues of heme are required to maintain HO-1 activity. It is anticipated that this work will act as a foundation to design and develop new probes for HO-1 activity in the future, moving toward applications of live fluorescent imaging.

Journal article

Bennett TLR, Wilkinson L, Lok JMA, O'Toole R, Long Net al., 2021, Synthesis, electrochemistry and optical properties of highly conjugated alkynyl-ferrocenes and -biferrocenes, Organometallics, Vol: 40, Pages: 1156-1162, ISSN: 0276-7333

Sonogashira reactions are utilized herein to react iodo-ferrocenes and -biferrocenes with terminal alkyne ligands, functionalized with both pyridine and thioanisole groups. High-yielding reactions generate both monoalkynyl and dialkynyl derivatives, the ratio of which can be altered through changes in the reaction stoichiometry. This methodology allowed us to synthesize a large family of derivatives, comprising four symmetrical derivatives (3xx, where x represents a phenyl-substituted terminal alkyne) and six less-studied asymmetrical derivatives (3xy, where x and y represent two different phenyl-substituted terminal alkynes), as well as a number of their biferrocenyl analogues (6x, 7xx, and 7xy), including the first known examples of asymmetrically disubstituted biferrocenes. We examined the electrochemical behavior of all the systems in solution through the use of cyclic voltammetry and demonstrate that these highly conjugated alkynyl ligands exert delicate redox control over the central ferrocene motif. We also note that these substituents display some control over the mixed-valence character present in biferrocene monocations, with thioanisole substituents imparting almost an order of magnitude higher Kc than their pyridyl analogues, and asymmetric systems displaying rare characteristic properties of mixed-valence isomers. The electronic structure of these systems was further elucidated through a combination of UV/vis spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. Our methodology provides a facile and adaptable route toward the isolation of a number of novel ferrocene and biferrocene derivatives. From our perspective, the asymmetric nature of these systems, along with the delicate and predictable redox control that these ligands exert on the central ferrocene unit(s), could lead to applications in molecular electronics, where these properties have previously shown promise in the fabrication of diodes and rectifiers, as well as in the synthesis of donor

Journal article

Wang X, Ismael A, Almutlg A, Alshammari M, Al-Jobory A, Alshehab A, Bennett TLR, Wilkinson LA, Cohen LF, Long NJ, Robinson BJ, Lambert Cet al., 2021, Optimised power harvesting by controlling the pressure applied to molecular junctions, Chemical Science, Vol: 12, Pages: 5230-5235, ISSN: 2041-6520

A major potential advantage of creating thermoelectric devices using self-assembled molecular layers is their mechanical flexibility. Previous reports have discussed the advantage of this flexibility from the perspective of facile skin attachment and the ability to avoid mechanical deformation. In this work, we demonstrate that the thermoelectric properties of such molecular devices can be controlled by taking advantage of their mechanical flexibility. The thermoelectric properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) fabricated from thiol terminated molecules were measured with a modified AFM system, and the conformation of the SAMs was controlled by regulating the loading force between the organic thin film and the probe, which changes the tilt angle at the metal-molecule interface. We tracked the thermopower shift vs. the tilt angle of the SAM and showed that changes in both the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient combine to optimize the power factor at a specific angle. This optimization of thermoelectric performance via applied pressure is confirmed through the use of theoretical calculations and is expected to be a general method for optimising the power factor of SAMs.

Journal article

Farleigh M, Pham TT, Yu Z, Kim J, Sunassee K, Firth G, Forte N, Chudasama V, Baker JR, Long NJ, Rivas C, Ma MTet al., 2021, New Bifunctional Chelators Incorporating Dibromomaleimide Groups for Radiolabeling of Antibodies with Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Radioisotopes, BIOCONJUGATE CHEMISTRY, Vol: 32, Pages: 1214-1222, ISSN: 1043-1802

Journal article

Omoruyi U, Page SJ, Apps S, White AJP, Long NJ, Miller PWet al., 2021, Synthesis and characterisation of a range of Fe, Co, Ru and Rh triphos complexes and investigations into the catalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid, Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, Vol: 935, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 0022-328X

The coordination chemistry of the N-triphos ligand (NP3Ph, 1b) has been investigated with range of Fe, Co and Rh precursors and found to form either tridentate or bidentate complexes. Reaction of NP3Ph with [Rh(COD)(CH3CN)2]BF4 resulted in the formation of the tridentate complex [Rh(COD)(κ3 NP3Ph)]BF4 (3) in the solid state, however, in solution a bidentate complex predominates in more polar solvents. Reaction of NP3Ph with Fe carbonyl precursors revealed the formation of the bidentate complexes [Fe(CO)3(κ2-NP3Ph)Fe(CO)4] (4) and [Fe(CO)3(κ2-NP3Ph)] (5), while reaction with FeBr2 resulted in the paramagnetic bidentate complex [Fe(Br)2(κ2-NP3Ph)] (6). Reaction of NP3Ph with CoCl2 gave a dimeric Co species [(κ2-NP3Ph)CoCl(κ1,κ2-NP3Ph)CoCl3] (7), while Zn powder reduction of NP3Ph Co halides resulted in the formation of the tridentate complexes of the type: [Co(X)(k3-NP3Ph)]. The related triphos Ru complex, [Ru(CO3)(CO)(κ3-CP3Ph)] (2), has also been isolated and characterised. Preliminary catalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) was conducted with 2 and 3. The Ru complex was found to be catalytically active, giving high conversions of LA to form gamma valerolactone (GVL) and 1,4-pentandiol (1,4-PDO), while 3 was found to be catalytically inactive. In situ catalytic testing with 1b and Fe(BF4)2.6H2O resulted in low conversions of LA while a combination of 1b and Co(BF4)2.6H2O gave higher conversions 75% yields of GVL.

Journal article

Wang C, Sun W, Zhang J, Zhang J, Guo Q, Zhou X, Fan D, Liu H, Qi M, Gao X, Xu H, Gao Z, Tian M, Zhang H, Wang J, Wei Z, Long NJ, Mao Y, Li Cet al., 2021, An electric-field-responsive paramagnetic contrast agent enhances the visualization of epileptic foci in mouse models of drug-resistant epilepsy, NATURE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Vol: 5, Pages: 278-289, ISSN: 2157-846X

Journal article

Ismael A, Al-Jobory A, Wang X, Alshehab A, Almutlg A, Alshammari M, Grace I, Bennett TLR, Wilkinson LA, Robinson BJ, Long NJ, Lambert Cet al., 2021, Molecular-scale thermoelectricity: as simple as 'ABC' (vol 2, pg 5329, 2020), NANOSCALE ADVANCES, Vol: 3, Pages: 619-619, ISSN: 2516-0230

Journal article

Blower PJ, Cusnir R, Darwesh A, Long NJ, Ma MT, Osborne BE, Price TW, Pellico J, Reid G, Southworth R, Stasiuk GJ, Terry SYA, de Rosales RTMet al., 2021, Gallium: New developments and applications in radiopharmaceutics, RECENT HIGHLIGHTS I, Editors: Hubbard, VanEldik, Publisher: ELSEVIER ACADEMIC PRESS INC, Pages: 1-35

Book chapter

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