Publications

65. Dual-stimuli responsive ionophore for OFF–ON–OFF transmembrane calcium ion transport and inter-vesicle signalling,
G. Kaur, K. M. Bąk, D. C. Edwards, S. L. Cockroft, M. H. Horrocks, M. J. Langton*, Chem. Sci. (2026), DOI: 10.1039/d6sc02506d
 

64. Fluorescence characterization of extracellular vesicles using single-molecule confocal microscopy,
T. Zhao, N. Pelegrina-Hidalgo, D. C. Edwards, K. M. Bąk, U. Karmakar, A. J. Fernando, M. Vendrell, A. G. Rossi, S. L. Cockroft, T. Kunath, R. S. Saleeb, M. H. Horrocks*, Small Methods (2025), 9, e00907. Citations
 

63. Unveiling repulsion in intramolecular H-bonded systems,
I. V. Smolyar, S. L. Cockroft*, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 147, 12381–12385 (2025) Citations

 

62. A single-molecule liposome assay for membrane permeabilisation,
K. M. Bąk, D. C. Edwards, D. George, B. Singh, R. Ferguson, T. Zhao, K. Piché, A. Louwrier, S. L. Cockroft,* M. H. Horrocks*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 64, e202503678 (2025) Citations

-Featured on the back cover of Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
 

61. Solvent attenuation of London dispersion in polycyclic aromatic stacking,
A. Elmi, K. M. Bąk, S. L. Cockroft*, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 63, e202412056 (2024) Citations

-Featured as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
 

60. An active machine learning discovery platform for membrane-disrupting and pore-forming peptides,
A. van Teijlingen, D. C. Edwards, L. Hu, A. Lilienkampf, S. L. Cockroft, T. Tuttle*, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 26, 17745–17752 (2024) Citations
 

59. Context-dependent significance of London dispersion,
L. A. Gravillier, S. L. Cockroft*. Acc. Chem. Res., 23, 3535–3544 (2023) Citations

-Featured in Acc. Chem. Res. 'Special Issue - Dispersion Interactions in Chemistry'
 

58. Experimental quantification of halogen∙∙∙arene van der Waals contacts,
A. M. L. West, N. Dominelli-Whiteley, I. V. Smolyar, G. S. Nichol, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 62, e202309682 (2023) Citations

-Featured in Chemistry Views, 'Molecular balances used to measure halogen∙∙∙arene interactions'
 

57. Dissecting solvent effects on hydrogen bonding,
N. Y. Meredith, S. Borsley, I. V. Smolyar, G. S. Nichol, C. M. Baker, K. B. Ling, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 61, e202206604 (2022) Citations

-Featured in Nature Reviews Chemistry, 'Weighing up solvent effects', and as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem.
 

56. Functionalised nanopores: Chemical and biological modifications, 
D. F. Cairns-Gibson, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Sci., 13, 1369–1882 (2022). Citations
 

55. Quantifying interactions and solvent effects using molecular balances and model complexes, 
A. Elmi, S. L. Cockroft*. Acc. Chem. Res., 54, 92–103 (2021). Citations
 

54. Reversible reductive elimination in Al(II) dihydrides, 
R. L. Falconer, G. S. Nichol, I. V. Smolyar, S. L. Cockroft, M. J. Cowley*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 60, 2047–2052 (2021). Citations
 

53. Strand displacement in DNA-based nanodevices and logic, 
A. Bader, S. L. Cockroft*. Book chapter in 'DNA- and RNA-Based Computing Systems' (E. Katz, Ed.), Wiley-VCH (2021). Citations
 

52. Reversible stimuli-responsive chromism of a cyclometallated platinum(II) complex, 
Q. Zheng, S. Borsley, T. Tu, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Commun., 56, 14705–14708 (2020). Citations
 

51. Transmembrane ion channels formed by a star of David [2]catenane and a molecular pentafoil knot, 
D. P. August, S. Borsley, S. L. Cockroft, F. della Sala, D. A. Leigh,* S. J. Webb. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 142, 18859–18865 (2020). Citations
 

50. Quantifying through-space substituent effects, 
R. J. Burns, I. K. Mati, K. B. Muchowska, C. Adam, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 16717–16724 (2020). Citations 

-Featured in: Nature Reviews Chemistry and as a 
Hot Paper in Angew. Chem. -Also see commentary in Chemistry World
 

49. Switchable foldamer ion channels with antibacterial activity, 
A. D. Peters, S. Borsley, F. della Sala, D. F. Cairns-Gibson, M. Leonidou, J. Clayden, George F. S. Whitehead, I. Vitorica-Yrzebal, E. Takano, J. Burthem, S. L. Cockroft, S. Webb*. Chem. Sci., 11, 7023–7030 (2020). Citations

48. Reconciling electrostatic and n→π* orbital contributions in carbonyl interactions, 
K. B. Muchowska, D. J. Pascoe, S. Borsley, I. V. Smolyar, I. K. Mati, C. Adam, G. S. Nichol, K. B. Ling, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 14602–14608 (2020). Citations 

-Featured as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem.

47. Conformational enhancement of fidelity in toehold-sequestered DNA nanodevices, 
A. Bader, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Commun., 56, 5135–5138 (2020). Citations
 

46. The importance of 1,5-oxygen-chalcogen interactions in enantioselective isochalcogenourea catalysis, 
C. M. Young, A. Elmi, D. J. Pascoe, R. K. Morris, C. McLaughlin, A. M. Woods, A. B. Frost, A. de la Houpliere, K. B. Ling, T. K. Smith, A. M. Z. Slawin, P. H. Willoughby*, S. L. Cockroft*, A. D. Smith*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 59, 3705–3710 (2020). Citations
 

45. The energetic significance of metallophilic interactions, 
Q. Zheng, S. Borsley, G. S. Nichol, F. Duarte, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 58, 12617–12623 (2019). Citations 

-Featured as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem.

44. Synthetically diversified protein nanopores: Resolving click reaction mechanisms, 
M. M. Haugland, S. Borsley, D. F. Cairns-Gibson, A. Elmi, S. L. Cockroft*. ACS Nano, 13, 4101–4110 (2019). Citations
 

43. Electrostatic forces in field-perturbed equilibria: nanopore analysis of cage complexes, 
S. Borsley, M. M. Haugland, S. Oldknow, J. A. Cooper, M. J. Burke, A. Scott, W. Grantham, J. Vallejo, E. K. Brechin, P. J. Lusby,* S. L. Cockroft*. Chem (Cell Press), 5, 1275–1292 (2019). Citations 

- Featured as a Preview in Chem

42. Simultaneous G-quadruplex DNA logic, 
A. Bader, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Eur. J., 24, 4820–4824 (2018). Citations

 

41. Nanopore detection of single-molecule binding within a metallosupramolecular cage, 
S. Borsley, J. A. Cooper, P. J. Lusby, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Eur. J., 24, 4542–4546 (2018). Citations

 

40. An RNA-dependent mechanism for transient expression of bacterial translocation filaments, 
D. Wang, S. P. McAteer, A. B. Wawszczyk, C. D. Russell, A. Tahoun, A. Elmi, S. L. Cockroft, D. Tollervey, S. Granneman, J. J. Tree*, D. L. Gally*. Nucleic Acids Res., 46, 3366–3381 (2018). Citations
 

39. In situ synthetic functionalization of a transmembrane protein nanopore, 
S. Borsley, S. L. Cockroft*. ACS Nano, 12, 786–794 (2018). Citations
 

38. The role of terminal functionality in the membrane and antibacterial activity of peptaibol-mimetic Aib foldamers, 
C. Adam, A. D. Peters, M. G. Lizio, G. F. S. Whitehead, J. A. Cooper, S. L. Cockroft, J. Clayden*, S. J. Webb*. Chem. Eur. J., 24, 2249–2256 (2018). Citations 

-Featured as a Hot Paper in Chem. Eur. J.
 

37. The origin of chalcogen-bonding interactions, 
D. J. Pascoe, K. B. Ling, S. L. Cockroft*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 139, 15160–15167 (2017). Citations
 
 

36. Screening solvent effects in anion recognition, 
S. L. Cockroft*. Chem (Cell Press), 3, 383–384 (2017). Citations


 

35. High-throughput RNA structure probing reveals critical folding events during early 60S ribosome assembly in yeast, 
E. Burlacu, F. Lackmann, L.-C. Aguilar, S. Belikov, R. van Nues, C. Trahan, R. D. Hector, N. Dominelli-Whiteley, S. L. Cockroft, L. Wieslander, M, Oeffinger, S. Granneman*. Nature Commun., 8, Article Number 714 (2017). Citations

34. Structural evidence for the covalent modification of FabH by 4,5-dichloro-1,2-dithiol-3-one (HR45), 
A. G. Ekström, V. Kelly, J. Marles-Wright, S. L. Cockroft, D. J. Campopiano*. Org. Biomol. Chem. 15, 6310–6313 (2017). Citations

33. Defocused imaging of UV-driven surface-bound molecular motors, 
B. Krajnik, J. Chen, M. A. Watson, S. L. Cockroft, B. L. Feringa*, J. C. Hofkens*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 139 (21), 7156–7159 (2017). Citations
 
 

32. Strong short-range cooperativity in H-bond chains, 
N. Dominelli-Whiteley, J. J. Brown, K. B. Muchowska, I. K. Mati, C. Adam, T. A. Hubbard, A. Elmi, A. J. Brown, I. A. W. Bell, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 56 (26), 7658–7662 (2017). Citations
 

31. Discrimination of supramolecular chirality using a protein nanopore, 
J. A. Cooper, S. Borsley, P. J. Lusby, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Sci. 8, 5005–5009 (2017). Citations 

-Featured in the themed collection International Symposium on Macrocyclic & Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC) in conjunction with ISACS
 

30. Transmembrane signalling: Membrane messengers, 
S. L. Cockroft*. Nature Chem., 9 (5), 406–407 (2017). Citations
 
 

29. The limit of intramolecular H-bonding, 
T. A. Hubbard, A. J. Brown, I. A. W. Bell, S. L. Cockroft*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138 (46), 15114–15117 (2016). Citations 

-Featured in top ten "most read" articles in J. Am. Chem. Soc. Nov '16 to Jan '17
 

28. Man-made molecular machines: membrane bound, 
M. A. Watson, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Soc. Rev., 45, 6118–6129 (2016). Citations 

-Featured as a Hot Article in ChemSocRev 
-Featured in: ChemSocRev Emerging Investigators 2016 themed collection

27. Length-dependent formation of transmembrane pores by 310 helical aminoisobutyric acid foldamers, 
J. E. Jones, V. Diemer, C. Adam, J. Raftery, R. E. Ruscoe, J. Sengel, M. I. Wallace, A. Bader, S. L. Cockroft, J. Clayden*, S. J. Webb*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 138 (2), 688–695 (2016). Citations
 

26. An autonomously reciprocating transmembrane nanoactuator, 
M. A. Watson, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 55 (4), 1345–1349 (2016). Citations 

-Featured as a Hot Paper in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

25. Can dispersion forces govern aromatic stacking in an organic solvent? 
L. Yang, J. B. Brazier, T. A. Hubbard, D. M. Rogers, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 55 (3), 912–916 (2016). Citations 

-Highlighted in Chemistry Views

24. Quantifying solvophobic effects in non-polar cohesive interactions, 
L. Yang, C. Adam, S. L. Cockroft*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 137 (32), 10084–10087 (2015). Citations
 

23. DNA modulates solvent isotope effects in a nanopore, 
M. A. Watson, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Commun., 51, 12243–12246 (2015). Citations

 

22. Partitioning solvophobic and dispersion forces in alkyl and perfluoroalkyl cohesion, 
C. Adam, L. Yang, S. L. Cockroft*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 54 (4), 1164–1167 (2015). Citations
 

21. Can non-polar hydrogen atoms accept hydrogen bonds?, 
L. Yang, T. A. Hubbard,S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Commun., 50 (40), 5212–5214 (2014). Citations 

-Featured in: ChemComm Emerging Investigators 2014 themed collection

20. Effect of solvent polarizability on the assembly and ordering of nanoscale polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane films, 
G. Evmenenko*, S. L. Cockroft, P. Dutta. Langmuir, 30 (1), 196–202 (2014). Citations

19. How much do van der Waals dispersion forces contribute to molecular recognition in solution? 
L. Yang, C. Adam, G. S. Nichol, S. L. Cockroft*. Nature Chem., 5 (12), 1006–1010 (2013). Citations 

-Featured in: Nature Chem. News & Views | Chemistry World | C&EN | In The Pipeline (Archived) | Chemisch2Weekblad

18. Seeing through solvent effects using molecular balances, 
I. K. Mati, C. Adam, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Sci., 4, 3965–3972 (2013). Citations

 

17. Electrostatic modulation of aromatic rings via explicit solvation of substituents, 
K. B. Muchowska, C. Adam, I. K. Mati, S. L. Cockroft*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 135, 9976–9979 (2013). Citations
 

16. Aromatic reactivity revealed: beyond resonance theory & frontier orbitals,
J. J. Brown, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Sci., 4, 1772–1780 (2013). Citations 

-Featured in: Chem. Sci. 2014 Physical Chemistry Collection (in honour of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)

15. Transcription forms and remodels supercoiling domains unfolding large-scale chromatin structures, 
C. Naughton, N. Avlonitis, S. Corless, J. G. Prendergast, I. K. Mati, P. P. Eijk, S. L. Cockroft, M. Bradley, B. Ylstra, N. Gilbert*. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol., 20, 387–395 (2013). Citations 

-Featured in: Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. News & Views

14. Palladium(II)-mediated assembly of biotinylated ion channels, 
C. P. Wilson, C. Boglio, L. Ma, S. L. Cockroft, S. J. Webb*. Chem. Eur. J., 17, 3465–73 (2011). Citations

 

13. Real-time monitoring of DNA polymerase function and stepwise single-nucleotide DNA strand translocation through a protein nanopore, 
J. Chu, M González-López, S. L. Cockroft, M. Amorin, M. R. Ghadiri*. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 49, 10106–10109 (2010). Citations 

-Featured in: Chemistry World | Nano Today

12. Molecular balances for quantifying non-covalent interactions, 
I. K. Mati, S. L. Cockroft*. Chem. Soc. Rev., 39, 4195–4205 (2010). Citations

 

11. Biological nanopores for single-molecule biophysics, 
L. Ma, S. L. Cockroft*. ChemBioChem, 11, 25–34 (2010). Citations
 
 

10. Desolvation and substituent effects in edge-to-face aromatic interactions, 
S. L. Cockroft*, C. A. Hunter*. Chem. Commun., 3961–3963 (2009). Citations
 

9. A single-molecule nanopore device detects DNA polymerase activity with single-nucleotide resolution, 
S. L. Cockroft, J. Chu, M. Amorin, M. R. Ghadiri*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 130, 818–820 (2008). Citations 

-Featured in: Nature | Nature Nanotechnology | ACS Chemical Biology

8. Modular multi-level circuits from immobilized DNA-based logic gates, 
B. M. Frezza, S. L. Cockroft, M. R. Ghadiri*. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 129, 14875-14879 (2007). Citations 

-Featured in: Nature

7. Substituent effects on aromatic stacking interactions, 
S. L. Cockroft, J. Perkins, C. Zonta, H. Adams, S. E. Spey, C. M. R. Low, J. G. Vinter, K. R. Lawson, C. J. Urch, C. A. Hunter*. Org. Biomol. Chem., 5, 1062–1080 (2007). Citations
 

6. Chemical double-mutant cycles: Dissecting non-covalent interactions, 
S. L. Cockroft, C. A. Hunter*. Chem. Soc. Rev., 36, 172–188 (2007). Citations 

-Featured in: Supramolecular Chemistry Collection

5. Desolvation tips the balance: Solvent effects on aromatic interactions, 
S. L. Cockroft, C. A. Hunter*. Chem. Commun., 36, 3806–3808 (2006). Citations

4. Electrostatic control of aromatic stacking interactions, 
S. L. Cockroft, C. A. Hunter*, K. R. Lawson, J. Perkins, C. J. Urch. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 127, 8594–8595 (2005). Citations
 

3. Experimental measurement of noncovalent interactions between halogens and aromatic rings, 
H. Adams, S. L. Cockroft, C. Guardigli, C. A. Hunter*, K. R. Lawson, J. Perkins, S. E. Spey, C. J. Urch, R. Ford. ChemBioChem, 5, 657–665 (2004). Citations

2. A ¹H NMR study of crystal nucleation in solution, 
A. Spitaleri, C. A. Hunter*, J. F. McCabe, M. J. Packer, S. L. Cockroft. CrystEngComm, 6, 489–493 (2004). Citations
 

1. The influence of nonspecific microsomal binding on apparent intrinsic clearance and its prediction from physicochemical properties, 
R. P. Austin, P. Barton, S. L. Cockroft, M. C. Wenlock, R. J. Riley* Drug Met. Disp., 30, 1497–1503 (2002). Citations

-James R. Gillette Best Paper Award (The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics)

12. Commentary: A simpler way to make rotaxanes,
V. Corless*, C&EN, (2026)

11. Commentary (R. J. Burns, PhD in Cockroft group on through-space effects): Chemists reconsider the impact of through-space effects, 
P. Dabell*, Chemistry World, (2021).

10. Commentary: Hydrogen bond imparts more stability on transition state than expected, 
P. Dabell*, Chemistry World, (2020).

9. Commentary: Feeling the effects, 
S. G. Davey*, Nature Reviews Chemistry, (2020).

8. Commentary: Trapped enzyme reveals its unexpected shape-shifting ability, 
J. Urquart*, Chemistry World, (2020).

7. Commentary: Study ranks interactions between hydrogen-bond acceptors and cations, 
S. Whitbread*, Chemistry World, (2019).

6. Commentary: Nanomachines can bore cancer cells to death, 
J. Urquart*, Chemistry World, (2017).

5. Book review: Non-Covalent Interactions in the Synthesis and Design of New Compounds, 
S. L. Cockroft*, Appl. Organometal. Chem., DOI: 10.1002/aoc.3872 (2017).

4. Commentary: New type of hydrogen bond discovered, 
D. Bradley*, Chemistry World, (2016).

3. Commentary: The silvery life of pi,  
D. Bradley*, Chemistry Views, DOI: 10.1002/chemv.201500052 (2015).

2. Commentary: An open and shut case for palladium, 
L. Howes*, Chem. Biol. (RSC) 3(9) B66 (2008).

1. Highlights from the 43rd EUCHEM Conference on Stereochemistry, Bürgenstock, Switzerland, April 2008, 
S. L. Cockroft*, D. M. Lindsay*, Chem. Commun., 6441–6445 (2008).