Toufic W. Mrad
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touficmrad.bsky.social
Toufic W. Mrad
@touficmrad.bsky.social
Chemist. Machines & Non equilibrium systems. Racing with time. Observe, Understand, Know. PhD from Leigh group 🇬🇧
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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!
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...
2026 Systems Chemistry (GRS) Seminar GRC
The 2026 Gordon Research Seminar on Systems Chemistry (GRS) will be held in Portland, Maine. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
October 1, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad
📣 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...
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…
mascgroup.co.uk
August 6, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad
✨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…
mascgroup.co.uk
July 28, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad
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...
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…
mascgroup.co.uk
July 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
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!
July 18, 2025 at 9:27 AM
A true pleasure to share my PhD’s work with such an incredible community!
Toufic Mrad from the university of Manchester talks about ratchets and catalysis beyond chemical synthesis!
@touficmrad.bsky.social
#ECRMASC25
#RSC_MASC
July 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad
A first coffee break after a fantastic first set of speakers at this year’s ECR conference at Oxford!
#ECRMASC25
#RSC_MASC
July 2, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad
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.
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/...
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%.
pubs.acs.org
February 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM
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/...
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%.
pubs.acs.org
February 28, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Toufic W. Mrad