Hagan Bayley, Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford, will explain how nanopores – tiny protein structures used to attack cells – have been repurposed for biotechnology, including DNA sequencing and tissue engineering. The lecture will cover the history and recent breakthroughs in these technologies and will be followed by a drinks reception.

The remarkable science of nanopores: from gene sequencing to organ repair

Many bacteria make tiny pores with diameters more than ten-thousand times smaller than a human hair. They use these pores to attack their victims' cells, including our own. The properties of these noxious proteins have been turned to good in several quite different areas of biotechnology, where they are known as nanopores.

First, they have been used for various aspects of sensing in which individual molecules are detected. A prominent aspect of this application has been the development of a portable device to sequence DNA by the spin-out company Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

Second, nanopores have been used to build tissues, both synthetic and living, by 3D printing, with anticipated medical applications including the screening of therapeutic agents and the repair of damaged organs.

The lecture will describe both the history of these developments and recent advances, and how the disparate applications of nanopores are connected by the haphazard advances of science.

Speaker bio:

Hagan Bayley is the Professor of Chemical Biology at the University of Oxford. A major interest of his laboratory is the development of engineered protein nanopores for stochastic detection, including single-molecule covalent chemistry and ultrarapid biopolymer sequencing. Recently, the Bayley lab has developed techniques for the fabrication of 3D tissues, both living and synthetic.

In 2005, Professor Bayley founded Oxford Nanopore, which has manufactured the portable MinION DNA/RNA sequencer. Professor Bayley was the 2009 Chemistry World Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2012 he was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry's Interdisciplinary Prize, in 2017 the Menelaus Medal of the Learned Society of Wales and in 2019 the Mullard Award of the Royal Society. In 2018, Professor Bayley held the Kavli Chair at the Delft University of Technology. In 2023, he received the Royal Society Buchanan Medal.

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