Toufic W. Mrad

It’s my first week as PDRA in the McGonigal group at Oxford, and it’s safe to say there’s some really exciting research in the making, behind it a great team of researchers!

@paul-mcgonigal.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @oxfordchemistry.bsky.social

“After all, research supervisors are just as good as their students” — Sir J. Fraser Stoddart.

A wise take-home message from one of the founding fathers of MASC—who sadly passed away almost a year ago—in a 1991 BBC broadcast.

#MASC2025
#RSC_MASC

The seminar (GRS) takes place on the weekend before the main GRC conference and is targeted at PhD students and Early-Career Researchers to promote their work, foster collaborations, and discuss career prospects! Please help spread the word!

Join us at the Seminar adjunct to GRC Systems Chemistry 2026! If you’re a PhD student or Early-Career Researcher, submit your abstract for a chance to present your work and connect with colleagues!

⚠️ Register now, places are limited!

Contact me for more info!

www.grc.org/systems-chem...

vMASC Call to volunteer for the vMASC committee vMASC: Expression of interest to volunteer for the vMASC committee The organising committee of the virtual Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry We are inviting members of the vMASC community to…

📣 Call for Volunteers - vMASC 📣

Submit your expression of interest to join the vMASC organising committee!

Deadline 📆 18th Aug 2025

Eligibility: full-time researcher (including early career) + member of RSC MASC Interest Group

Find out more on mascgroup.co.uk/vmasc-4/vmas...

2025 MASC Prize Calls MASC: The Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Interest Group 2025 MASC Prize Calls 2025 RSC MASC Group PhD Thesis Award given in memory of John Fossey: The RSC MASC Group P…

✨Spotlight✨

The MASC Interest Group and WISC Network @wisuprachem.bsky.social announce the inaugural 2025 MASC/WISC EDIA Award for “excellence in equality/equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA)”.

Application deadline 📆 5th Sep 2025

More on mascgroup.co.uk/2025-masc-pr...

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2025 MASC Prize Calls MASC: The Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry Interest Group 2025 MASC Prize Calls 2025 RSC MASC Group PhD Thesis Award given in memory of John Fossey: The RSC MASC Group P…

The 2025 MASC Group Awards are all open for nominations, with the following deadlines:

🏆 MASC Group Supramolecular Chemistry Award. 📆 5th Sep

🏆 Bob Hay Award Lectureship. 📆 5th Sep

🏆 MASC Group PhD Thesis Award. 📆 7th Nov

🏆 MASC/WISC EDIA Award. 📆 5th Sep

More on mascgroup.co.uk/2025-masc-pr...

Yesterday marked a major milestone. A smooth viva for a bumpy PhD. #PhDone

Thanks @gemcrisenza.bsky.social and @fiszczyp.bsky.social for a genuinely enjoyable viva, and most of all @profdaveleigh.bsky.social (and the group!) for believing in me and supporting me from the start!

A true pleasure to share my PhD’s work with such an incredible community!

People socialising during a coffee break

People socialising during a coffee break

A first coffee break after a fantastic first set of speakers at this year’s ECR conference at Oxford!
#ECRMASC25
#RSC_MASC

Kinetic asymmetry drives the continuous directional rotation of the motor. So, if you’re interested in Brownian ratchets or machines, check out our chiral carbodiimide derivatives as well as the asymmetric anhydride hydrolysis promoters we used!

Beautiful example of how the paradigmatic four-state mechanism for a molecular machine can provide insight into optimization principles as well as clarify the origin of kinetic asymmetry! Congratulations to all authors.

Structural Influence of the Chemical Fueling System on a Catalysis-Driven Rotary Molecular Motor Continuous directionally biased 360° rotation about a covalent single bond was recently realized in the form of a chemically fueled 1-phenylpyrrole 2,2′-dicarboxylic acid rotary molecular motor. However, the original fueling system and reaction conditions resulted in a motor directionality of only ∼3:1 (i.e., on average a backward rotation for every three forward rotations), along with a catalytic efficiency for the motor operation of 97% and a fuel efficiency of 14%. Here, we report on the efficacy of a series of chiral carbodiimide fuels and chiral hydrolysis promoters (pyridine and pyridine N-oxide derivatives) in driving improved directional rotation of this motor-molecule. We outline the complete reaction network for motor operation, composed of directional, futile, and slip cycles. Using derivatives of the motor where the final conformational step in the 360° rotation is either very slow or completely blocked, the phenylpyrrole diacid becomes enantiomerically enriched, allowing the kinetic gating of the individual steps in the catalytic cycle to be measured. The chiral carbodiimide fuel that produces the highest directionality gives 13% enantiomeric excess (e.e.) for the anhydride-forming kinetically gated step, while the most effective chiral hydrolysis promoter generates 90% e.e. for the kinetically gated hydrolysis step. Combining the best-performing fuel and hydrolysis promoter into a single fueling system results in a 92% e.e.. Under a dilute chemostated fueling regime (to avoid N-acyl urea formation at high carbodiimide concentrations with pyridine N-oxide hydrolysis promoters), the motor continuously rotates with a directionality of ∼24:1 (i.e., a backward rotation for every 24 forward rotations) with a catalytic efficiency of >99% and a fuel efficiency of 51%.

Check out how we made a minuscule motor rotate 24 times in one direction on its own! Huge thanks to all involved, especially @profdaveleigh.bsky.social for making this work possible
@pubs.acs.org
Huakui, Axel, @stefanborsley.bsky.social @benjaminoacid.bsky.social & Alex
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Heartfelt congratulations! Looking forward to some exciting science

Transducing chemical energy through catalysis by an artificial molecular motor - Nature A cross-linked polymer gel driven by artificial molecular motors transforms chemical energy into mechanical force, achieving powered contraction and re-expansion, demonstrating a considerable advance in understanding energy transduction mechanisms and informing nanotechnology design principles.

Nature research paper: Transducing chemical energy through catalysis by an artificial molecular motor

https://go.nature.com/4gSOxxC