York Chemist wins Royal Society of Chemistry Tilden Prize

The Tilden Prizes are awarded annually by the Royal Society of Chemistry to recognise excellence in chemical research, impact and innovation. Recipients of the prizes are established career academics with up to 30 years post-PhD research experience. These research prizes are amongst the most prestigious offered by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Professor David Smith has been recognised for ‘pioneering an understanding of molecular materials based on supramolecular gels’. 

Gels are fascinating materials which surround us in everyday life - from hairgel to ‘Jelly Babies’. However, while the gels used in everyday life are typically made of polymers, Professor Smith is instead interested in ‘supramolecular gels’ which reversibly assemble from small molecule building blocks via intermolecular interactions. Such gels are highly tunable and can be programmed by molecular engineering to carry out unique functions.

Over recent years, Professor Smith has developed a new family of hydrogels based on very simple low-cost building blocks, and demonstrated their potential in applications ranging from environmental remediation & catalysis to drug delivery & tissue engineering. His work therefore illustrates that supramolecular chemistry can approach high-tech applications within realistic commercial constraints.

For example, one of Smith’s gels has been designed to extract and accumulate precious metals from waste water. The resulting metal-loaded gels can then go on to have applications in their own right, including antibacterial activity (silver), nano-electronics (gold) or catalysis (palladium).

Inspired by his own husband’s health problems with cystic fibrosis and organ transplantation, Professor Smith has also created hydrogels capable of supporting cell growth. His research team have created innovative ways of shaping and patterning such gels in order to direct and control cell growth using technologies such as photo-patterning, diffusion and 3D-printing. Such gels have potential future use in growing organs from a patient’s own stem cells, which could give rise to organs ‘on-demand’ and avoid problems with transplant rejection.

Smith and his team have also developed injectable supramolecular microgels which support stem cell growth and have potential applications for tissue repair.

Drug delivery gels explored by the team include a system for nasal delivery that can achieve enhanced uptake into the brain to potentially treat conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease.

Smith plays a leading role in Molecular Materials research in the Department of Chemistry – MolMatYork. 

This grouping of >30 researchers studies self-assembled, self-organised and nanoscale materials, often based on renewable resources, and applies them in next-generation technologies.

Reflecting on the award, Organic Chemistry Academic Group Leader Professor Ian Fairlamb said: “Dave’s research has been outstanding over many years. He has pioneered new approaches and applications of supramolecular soft matter systems. He leads an inclusive research team, and provides excellent training to his group members, who have gone on to valuable careers in a range of different fields, both in academia and industry.”

Professor Smith added: “I have been privileged to work with some truly remarkable scientists from across the world. This award is a reflection on their talents and the way in which each of them has enriched both the ideas and the culture of my research team.”

Professor Smith is the latest member of the Department of Chemistry to win a Tilden Prize – previous winners include Professors Duncan Bruce, Lucy Carpenter, Simon Duckett, Robin Perutz and Richard Taylor.