Professor Nicholas Warren
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Chair in Sustainable Materials
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Full contact details
Professor Nicholas Warren
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
-
I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2005. After a brief stint in industry, I pursued my PhD at the University of Sheffield, where I continued as a postdoctoral researcher until 2016. That year, I began my academic career as a University Academic Fellow at the University of Leeds, eventually being promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. In 2024, I returned to the University of Sheffield as a Chair in Sustainable Materials within the School of Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering.
My research team focuses on integrating polymerisation chemistries with innovative technologies such as flow chemistry, online monitoring, and artificial intelligence to drive advancements in polymer sciences. The overall vision is to enhance the sustainability of polymer products and processes. I actively collaborate with academic and industry partners to ensure versatility of the technologies and that my research has practical applications which can meet societal needs. These collaborations help bridge the gap between academic research and industrial implementation, fostering innovation and accelerating the development of sustainable materials. My interdisciplinary research contributions to date have resulted in being awarded the 2022 Macro Group UK Young Researchers Medal, and the 2023 RSC Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Outstanding Early Career Paper Award.
- Research interests
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- Polymer science
- Flow chemistry
- Online monitoring
- Polymerisation optimisation
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Self-driving laboratory for emulsion polymerization. Chemical Engineering Journal, 507, 160700-160700.
- Self-driving laboratory platform for many-objective self-optimisation of polymer nanoparticle synthesis with cloud-integrated machine learning and orthogonal online analytics.. Polymer Chemistry. View this article in WRRO
- Polymers with quadruple hydrogen-bonding end groups: controlling molecular weight using a small molecule photoswitch. Polymer Chemistry. View this article in WRRO
- Operator-free HPLC automated method development guided by Bayesian optimization. Digital Discovery, 3(8), 1591-1601. View this article in WRRO
- The production of polysarcosine‐containing nanoparticles by ring‐opening polymerization‐induced self‐assembly. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 45(15). View this article in WRRO
- Effective delivery and selective insecticidal activity of double-stranded RNA via complexation with diblock copolymer varies with polymer block composition. Pest Management Science, 80(2), 669-677. View this article in WRRO
- Amphiphilic block copolymers as dual flocculation-flotation agents for rapid solid–liquid separation of radioactive wastes. Separation and Purification Technology, 323, 124387-124387.
- Correction to “Continuous-Flow Laboratory SAXS for In Situ Determination of the Impact of Hydrophilic Block Length on Spherical Nano-Object Formation during Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly”. Macromolecules, 56(18), 7651-7651.
- Continuous-Flow Laboratory SAXS for In Situ Determination of the Impact of Hydrophilic Block Length on Spherical Nano-Object Formation during Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Macromolecules, 56(16), 6426-6435.
- Exploiting breath figure reversibility for in situ pattern modulation and hierarchical design. Soft Matter, 19(15), 2737-2744. View this article in WRRO
- Development and experimental validation of a dispersity model for silico RAFT polymerization. Macromolecules, 56(4), 1581-1591. View this article in WRRO
- Machine learning directed multi-objective optimization of mixed variable chemical systems. Chemical Engineering Journal, 451, 138443-138443.
- Continuous synthesis of block copolymer nanoparticles via telescoped RAFT solution and dispersion polymerisation in a miniature CSTR cascade. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 8(3), 707-717. View this article in WRRO
- Temporally Arrested Breath Figure. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 14(23), 27435-27443.
- Protection of Double-Stranded RNA via Complexation with Double Hydrophilic Block Copolymers: Influence of Neutral Block Length in Biologically Relevant Environments. Biomacromolecules, 23(6), 2362-2373.
- New aldehyde‐functional methacrylic water‐soluble polymers. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 60(21), 12032-12037. View this article in WRRO
- Understanding and Designing Tailor-Made Additives for Controlling Nucleation: Case Study of p-Aminobenzoic Acid Crystallizing from Ethanolic Solutions. Crystal Growth & Design, 21(4), 1946-1958.
- Structure and sedimentation characterisation of sheared Mg(OH)2 suspensions flocculated with anionic polymers. Chemical Engineering Science, 231, 116274-116274.
- RAFT dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate in non-polar media using hydrogenated polybutadiene as a steric stabilizer block. Polymer Chemistry, 11(47), 7533-7541. View this article in WRRO
- Isothermal by Design: Comparison with an Established Isothermal Nucleation Kinetics Analysis Method. Chemical Engineering & Technology, 43(10), 1971-1980.
- A worm gel-based 3D model to elucidate the paracrine interaction between multiple myeloma and mesenchymal stem cells. Materials Today Bio, 5. View this article in WRRO
- Isothermal by Design: An Accelerated Approach to the Prediction of the Crystallizability of Slowly Nucleating Systems. Organic Process Research & Development, 23(9), 1948-1959.
- Critical dependence of molecular weight on thermoresponsive behavior of diblock copolymer worm gels in aqueous solution. Macromolecules, 51(21), 8357-8371. View this article in WRRO
- Heteroatom Donor‐Decorated Polymer‐Immobilized Ionic Liquid Stabilized Palladium Nanoparticles: Efficient Catalysts for Room‐Temperature Suzuki‐Miyaura Cross‐Coupling in Aqueous Media. Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 360(19), 3716-3731.
- Can percolation theory explain the gelation behavior of diblock copolymer worms?. Chemical Science, 9(35), 7138-7144. View this article in WRRO
- pH-Responsive diblock copolymers with two different fluorescent labels for simultaneous monitoring of micellar self-assembly and degree of protonation. Polymer Chemistry, 9(21), 2964-2976. View this article in WRRO
- Stimulated Transitions of Directed Nonequilibrium Self‐Assemblies. Advanced Materials, 29(43).
- Cationic disulfide-functionalized worm gels. Polymer Chemistry, 8(38), 5962-5971. View this article in WRRO
- H2O2 Enables Convenient Removal of RAFT End-Groups from Block Copolymer Nano-Objects Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in Water. Macromolecules, 50(1), 182-191. View this article in WRRO
- Influence of Salt on the Solution Dynamics of a Phosphorylcholine-Based Polyzwitterion. European Polymer Journal, 87, 449-457. View this article in WRRO
- Erratum: Cover image, volume 54, issue 20. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, 55(2), 214-214.
- Bespoke contrast-matched diblock copolymer nanoparticles enable the rational design of highly transparent Pickering double emulsions. Nanoscale, 8(30), 14497-14506. View this article in WRRO
- Bespoke Cationic Nano-objects via RAFT Aqueous Dispersion Polymerisation. Polymer Chemistry, 7(23), 3864-3873. View this article in WRRO
- In situ small-angle X-ray scattering studies of sterically-stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles formed during polymerization-induced self-assembly in non-polar media. Chemical Science, 7(8), 5078-5090. View this article in WRRO
- A Robust Cross-Linking Strategy for Block Copolymer Worms Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Macromolecules, 49(8), 2928-2941. View this article in WRRO
- Mucin-Inspired Thermoresponsive Synthetic Hydrogels Induce Stasis in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Human Embryos.. ACS Cent Sci, 2(2), 65-74. View this article in WRRO
- Order-Order Morphological Transitions for Dual Stimulus Responsive Diblock Copolymer Vesicles. MACROMOLECULES, 49(3), 1016-1025. View this article in WRRO
- pH-Responsive non-ionic diblock copolymers: protonation of a morpholine end-group induces an order-order transition. Polymer Chemistry, 7(1), 79-88. View this article in WRRO
- Disulfide-Based Diblock Copolymer Worm Gels: A Wholly-Synthetic Thermoreversible 3D Matrix for Sheet-Based Cultures. Biomacromolecules, 16(12), 3952-3958. View this article in WRRO
- Framboidal ABC triblock copolymer vesicles: a new class of efficient Pickering emulsifier. Chemical Science, 6(11), 6179-6188. View this article in WRRO
- Disulfide-Functionalized Diblock Copolymer Worm Gels. Biomacromolecules , 16(8), 2514-2521. View this article in WRRO
- Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Diblock Copolymer Nano-objects Prepared in Nonpolar Media via RAFT-Mediated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Macromolecules, 48(11), 3547-3555. View this article in WRRO
- pH-Responsive Non-Ionic Diblock Copolymers: Ionization of Carboxylic Acid End-Groups Induces an Order-Order Morphological Transition. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 54(4), 1279-1283. View this article in WRRO
- Polysulfobetaine-based diblock copolymer nano-objects via polymerization-induced self-assembly. Polymer Chemistry, 6(41), 7264-7273. View this article in WRRO
- pH‐Responsive Non‐Ionic Diblock Copolymers: Ionization of Carboxylic Acid End‐Groups Induces an Order–Order Morphological Transition. Angewandte Chemie, 127(4), 1295-1299.
- Testing the Vesicular Morphology to Destruction: Birth and Death of Diblock Copolymer Vesicles Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 137(5), 1929-1937. View this article in WRRO
- Preparation of Double Emulsions using Hybrid Polymer/Silica Particles: New Pickering Emulsifiers with Adjustable Surface Wettability. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 6(23), 20919-20927.
- Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly of Block Copolymer Nano-objects via RAFT Aqueous Dispersion Polymerization. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 136(29), 10174-10185. View this article in WRRO
- Polymersome-Mediated Delivery of Combination Anticancer Therapy to Head and Neck Cancer Cells: 2D and 3D in Vitro Evaluation. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 11(4), 1176-1188.
- Are block copolymer worms more effective Pickering emulsifiers than block copolymer spheres?. Soft Matter, 10(43), 8615-8626. View this article in WRRO
- Framboidal triblock copolymer vesicles: A new class of efficient Pickering emulsifier. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 248.
- RAFT aqueous dispersion polymerization yields poly(ethylene glycol)-based diblock copolymer nano-objects with predictable single phase morphologies.. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 136(3), 1023-1033.
- Nile Blue-Based Nanosized pH Sensors for Simultaneous Far-Red and Near-Infrared Live Bioimaging. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(39), 14863-14870. View this article in WRRO
- Polymersome‐mediated intracellular delivery of antibiotics to treat
Porphyromonas gingivalis
‐infected oral epithelial cells. The FASEB Journal, 27(11), 4455-4465.
- Effect of pH and Temperature on PMPC–PDPA Copolymer Self-Assembly. Macromolecules, 46(4), 1400-1407.
- Enhanced drug delivery to melanoma cells using PMPC-PDPA polymersomes. Cancer Letters, 334(2), 328-337.
- Fully synthetic polymer vesicles for intracellular delivery of antibodies in live cells. The FASEB Journal, 27(1), 98-108.
- Near-Monodisperse Poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine)-Based Macromonomers Prepared by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization and Thiol–Ene Click Chemistry: Novel Reactive Steric Stabilizers for Aqueous Emulsion Polymerization. Langmuir, 28(5), 2928-2936.
- A non-toxic cellular staining agent based on fluorescently labeled poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine]. Technical Proceedings of the 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011, 3, 344-347.
- Controlling pH responsive polymersome assembly. Technical Proceedings of the 2011 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2011, 1, 588-591.
- Self-assembly of double hydrophilic block copolymers in concentrated aqueous solution. Soft Matter, 7(14), 6399-6399.
- Wet nanoscale imaging and testing of polymersomes. Small, 7(14), 2010-2015. View this article in WRRO
- Synthesis of Rhodamine 6G-Based Compounds for the ATRP Synthesis of Fluorescently Labeled Biocompatible Polymers. Biomacromolecules, 12(6), 2225-2234.
- Controlling Polymersome Surface Topology at the Nanoscale by Membrane Confined Polymer/Polymer Phase Separation. ACS Nano, 5(3), 1775-1784.
- Self-assembly of double-hydrophilic block copolymers in aqueous solution. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 242.
- Efficient encapsulation of plasmid DNA in pH-sensitive PMPC-PDPA polymersomes: study of the effect of PDPA block length on copolymer-DNA binding affinity.. Macromol Biosci, 10(5), 513-530.
- Selective fluorescent labeling of an amphiphilic biocompatible block copolymer. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, 239.
- Photoresponsive Surfactants in Microgel Dispersions. Langmuir, 22(1), 101-105.
- Future Perspectives on the Automation and Biocompatibility of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Healthcare Applications. Macromolecules.
- Exploiting Online Spatially Resolved Dynamic Light Scattering and Flow-NMR for Automated Size Targeting of PISA-Synthesized Block Copolymer Nanoparticles. ACS Polymers Au.
- Steroid-Based Liquid Crystalline Polymers: Responsive and Biocompatible Materials of the Future. Crystals, 12(7), 1000-1000.
- Linear ABC amphiphilic triblock copolymers for complexation and protection of dsRNA. Polymer Chemistry, 13(40), 5707-5717.
- Autonomous polymer synthesis delivered by multi-objective closed-loop optimisation. Polymer Chemistry, 13(11), 1576-1585.
- Flotation using sodium dodecyl sulphate and sodium lauroyl isethionate for rapid dewatering of Mg(OH)2 radwaste suspensions. RSC Advances, 11(30), 18661-18675.
- New Aldehyde‐Functional Methacrylic Water‐Soluble Polymers. Angewandte Chemie.
- Recent Advances in Engineered Nanoparticles for RNAi-Mediated Crop Protection Against Insect Pests. Frontiers in Agronomy, 3.
- A facile method for generating worm-like micelles with controlled lengths and narrow polydispersity. Chemical Communications, 56(54), 7463-7466.
- Enabling technologies in polymer synthesis: accessing a new design space for advanced polymer materials. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 5(3), 405-423.
- Rapid production of block copolymer nano-objects via continuous-flow ultrafast RAFT dispersion polymerisation. Polymer Chemistry, 11(20), 3465-3474.
- Correction: Thermoresponsive polysarcosine-based nanoparticles. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 7(48), 7795-7795.
- All-aqueous continuous-flow RAFT dispersion polymerisation for efficient preparation of diblock copolymer spheres, worms and vesicles. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 4(5), 852-861.
- Benchtop flow-NMR for rapid online monitoring of RAFT and free radical polymerisation in batch and continuous reactors. Polymer Chemistry, 10(35), 4774-4778.
- Thermoresponsive polysarcosine-based nanoparticles. Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 7(26), 4217-4223.
- Applications of shear-induced polarized light imaging (SIPLI) technique for mechano-optical rheology of polymers and soft matter materials. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics. View this article in WRRO
- Translocation of flexible polymersomes across pores at the nanoscale. Biomater. Sci., 2(5), 680-692.
- Tuning the critical gelation temperature of thermo-responsive diblock copolymer worm gels. Polym. Chem., 5(21), 6307-6317.
Conference proceedings papers
- H2O2 enables convenient removal of RAFT end-groups from block copolymer nano-objects prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly in water. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 254
- Diblock copolymer worm-gels for cellular immobilization and storage. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 250
- Framboidal triblock copolymer vesicles: A new class of efficient Pickering emulsifier. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 250
- Preparation of double emulsions using hybrid polymer/silica particles: New Pickering emulsifiers with adjustable surface wettability. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 250
- Testing the vesicular morphology to destruction: Birth and death of diblock copolymer vesicles prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 250
- Bespoke poly(ethylene glycol)-based diblock copolymer nano-objects via polymerization-induced self-assembly. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 248
- pH-responsive diblock copolymer nano-objects based on non-ionic monomers: Ionization of carboxylic acid end-groups induces an order-order morphological transition. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 248
- Preparation of double emulsions using hybrid polymer/silica particles: New Pickering emulsifiers with adjustable surface wettability. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 248
- Testing vesicles to destruction: SAXS and mass spectrometry studies on block copolymer vesicles prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 248
- Thermo-responsive diblock copolymer worm gels with tunable critical gelation temperature. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 248
- Biocompatible pH responsive nanoparticles. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
- New stimulus-responsive block copolymer nanoparticles via polymerization-induced self-assembly. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol. 245
Preprints
- Self-driving laboratory for emulsion polymerization. Chemical Engineering Journal, 507, 160700-160700.