Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry
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Dr Thomas Britten
Lecturer in Medicinal/Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Medicinal chemist working on synthetic methodology for drug discovery applications
My profile
Biography
I am a Medicinal Chemist interested in the development of novel synthetic methodologies to access bioactive compounds. My research is underpinned by the design and application of innovative organic chemistry. I have a keen interest in the use of enabling technologies, such as flow chemistry and photochemistry, for chemical reactions and their applications to the synthesis of bespoke compound libraries. The new synthetic methodology developed in my lab is focused on the use of greener conditions/reagents and sustainability. Drug discovery is a collaborative effort, and my lab works closely with researchers in other disciplines (biologists and chemical biologists).
Interests and expertise
- The development and discovery of new antibiotics
- The synthesis and study of targeted protein degraders
- Library synthesis for biological screening
- Compound optimisation for medicinal applications
- Development of novel synthetic methodology
- Photochemistry
- Flow chemistry
Teaching
I teach organic and medicinal chemistry with a key focus on training students to apply the knowledge they are taught to tackle problems.
Chemistry
Watch our video of Dr Paul Smith, Senior Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry, explaining the impact chemists can have on the world and why he loves the subject.
The MChem (Hons) Chemistry is an integrate…
Supervision
Current Lab Members:
Lauren Paszczuk (Masters by Research 23-24 with Dr Lewis)
Sophie Daley (MChem 23-24)
Lab Alumni:
Dean Roberts (Visiting PhD student 2023)
Opportunities:
Are you interested in developing new strategies to support the drug development process? The Britten lab is always searching for talented and driven students to join the team.
- Funded Positions – These will be advertised as they become available
- Self-Funded Positions – My lab has a variety of projects available for students wishing to self-fund their postgraduate studies (MRes or PhD). Please contact Tom if you would like to discuss this further.
- Royal Society of Chemistry Undergraduate Research Bursaries - A chance for UK-based students to gain some lab experience in the summer. The bursary is a funded 6-8 week research project (limited to students in the middle years of their course – first/final year students are not eligible) and the deadline is usually mid-February. Please contact Tom in January (at the latest) to ensure that there is plenty of time to prepare the application.
Research outputs
Here you can find my publication history from the research throughout my career. I have a strong background in the development of synthetic methodology.
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Chapters in books
Basson, A.J., Britten, T.K., Roberts, D.D., McLaughlin, M.G. (2021) 'Bicyclic 5-5 Systems: Four Heteroatoms 2:2.' Comprehensive Heterocyclic Chemistry IV. pp. 97-119.
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Journal articles
Leonard, E.L.R., Akien, G.R., Britten, T.K., Kazi, N., Roberts, D.D., McLaughlin, M.G. (2023) 'Synthesis of Diverse Allylsilanes Employing Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Reductive Functionalization.' Advanced Synthesis and Catalysis, 365(22) pp. 3872-3875.
Britten, T.K., Basson, A.J., Roberts, D.D., McLaughlin, M.G. (2021) 'Aza-Peterson Olefinations: Rapid Synthesis of (E)-Alkenes.' Synthesis, 53(19) pp. 3535-3544.
Britten, T.K., Kemmitt, P.D., Halcovitch, N.R., Coote, S.C. (2020) '1,2-Dihydropyridazines as Versatile Synthetic Intermediates.' Synlett, 31(5) pp. 459-462.
Britten, T.K., McLaughlin, M.G. (2020) 'Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Peterson Olefinations.' The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 85(2) pp. 301-305.
Britten, T.K., Kemmitt, P.D., Halcovitch, N.R., Coote, S.C. (2019) '4-π-Photocyclization of 1,2-Dihydropyridazines: An Approach to Bicyclic 1,2-Diazetidines with Rich Synthetic Potential..' Organic letters, 21(22) pp. 9232-9235.
Britten, T.K., Akien, G.R., Kemmitt, P.D., Halcovitch, N.R., Coote, S.C. (2019) 'An efficient preparation of 1,2-dihydropyridazines through a Diels-Alder/palladium-catalysed elimination sequence.' Tetrahedron Letters, 60(22) pp. 1498-1500.
Krompiec, M.P., Baxter, S.N., Klimareva, E.L., Yufit, D.S., Congrave, D.G., Britten, T.K., Perepichka, I.F. (2018) '3,4-Phenylenedioxythiophenes (PheDOTs) functionalized with electron-withdrawing groups and their analogs for organic electronics.' Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 6(14) pp. 3743-3756.
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Conference papers
Britten, T. (2018) '4-π Photocyclisation: A new route to functionalised 1,2-diazetidines.' In 256th American Chemical Society National Meeting. 256. Boston, 19/8/2018 - 23/8/2018.
Career history
2022-Present
Lecturer in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Manchester Metropolitan University
2019-2021
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University; Supervisor: Dr Mark McLaughlin and Dr Jonathan Butler
2015-2019
PhD in Chemistry at Lancaster University; Supervisor: Dr Susannah Coote
CASE PhD (AstraZeneca)
2011-2015
Master of Chemistry (MChem) at Bangor University. SCI’s Liverpool & North West Regional Group Award; Departmental AMRI MChem Prize