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Dr Nick Chatterton

Profile summary

  • Central Academic Staff
  • Senior Lecturer
  • Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • School of Life, Health & Chemical Sciences
  • nicholas.chatterton

Professional biography

I graduated from Cambridge University with an MA in Natural Sciences, this was then followed by an MSc in Chemistry at Imperial College and a PhD in Organometallic Chemistry from Kings College London in 2003. Since then I have further done research in inorganic chemistry in France (CEA, Grenoble), been a teaching fellow at Sheffield University and prior to joining the OU in June 2015 was a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry and Course Leader in Pharmaceutical Sciences at London Metropolitan University for 8 years.

Research interests

My research interests primarily involve exploiting electrohydrodynamic techniques (electrospinning and electrospraying) to generate nanomaterials. Our research in this area predominantly focuses on using these techniques to fabricate novel drug delivery systems. The materials generated generally increase the solubility of poorly soluble drug molecules thereby increasing their bioavailability. In addition we have fabricated materials that can tuned to give either sustained or pulsatile release of drug cargo. We are also interested in luminescent solids with unusual optical properties produced via similar techniques to generate highly-tuned materials that act as sensitive sensors of gas molecules. Recent work has applied similar techniques to generate anti-microbial materials for the food industry using food waste as a raw material. This work is supported by the BBSRC. On going work also includes using electrohydrodynamic techniques to fabricate smart wound dressings for patients with diabetic foot wounds. This work is funded by the British Council. 

PhD supervision:

Gaoyen Chen (completed 2012)

Eranka Illangakoon (completed 2015)

Yacine Kaassis (completed 2015)

Erum Noureen (completed 2020)

Lewis Anderson (completed 2022)

Ashley Saunders (completed 2024)

Katy Woodason (completed 2024)

Alistair Hines (ongoing)

Maryam Saberi (ongoing)

 

Teaching interests

I have over 10 years experience of face-to-face teaching (lectures, tutorials etc) at UK universities and joined the OU to gain experience in developing and utlizing distance learning approaches to teach HE level chemistry. Since joining the OU in 2015 I have written material for S111, S112, S315, SS021, SS031 an was module chair for the production of the new level 2 module S248.  I am currently authoring two blocks for the new 60 credit module S218. I am also employed as an associate lecturer on the project module SXC390 and the level 1 module S112. I developed support for materials for chemistry students transitioning between stages in their study, authoring the material for the "Get Ready For S215" website. I am currently Qualification Lead for the Chemistry pathway. 

External collaborations

Prof Kenneth White (London Metropolitan University)

Dr Yasmin Abozeid (Helwan University, Egypt)

Externally funded projects

Fabrication and assessment of smart wound dressings to promote diabetic wound healing using electrospinning
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Lead01 Apr 202431 Mar 2025British Council

Diabetic wound healing is a serious public health problem encountering diabetic patients worldwide. It can lead to terrible consequences, such as gangrene or amputation, if not treated correctly and quickly. The delay of diabetic wound healing is due to contamination of diabetic wounds with resistant bacterial strains that tend to keep wound site at alkaline pH (pH≥8). Therefore, with the absence of adequate antimicrobial agent, there is a high demand to find alternative, effective and safe antimicrobial agents. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) was reported to have a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity where its principle antimicrobial mechanism involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are able to attach the micro-organism at multiple sites and thus reduce the potential of micro-organism developing resistance. Moreover, it has a good safety profile being approved by FDA for treatment of hemolytic anemia. In the current project, a cutting-edge science, will use electrospinning techniques to fabricate a smart wound dressing where IONPs will be incorporated into pH-responsive polymeric nanofibers (Eudragit L100) followed by investigating its antimicrobial activity (in-vitro) against the common causative bacteria associated with wound infections. This will be followed by assessing the cytotoxicity of produced smart wound dressing both in vitro (Human dermal fibroblast cells) and in vivo (acute and sub-chronic toxicity). Then after, assessing the wound healing capacity of produced smart wound dressing on infected and non-infected wound of diabetic animal model in comparison to a selected wound dressing available in market. The obtained results will be correlated with future pilot clinical study as a further test of their suitability to progress to clinical translation targeting chronic wound treatment in diabetic patients. Such developed smart wound dressing would be of interest to Egypt & other developing countries where human resources & healthcare budgets are limited. Produced locally, these smart wound dressing will be a revenue source & enhance the socio-economic development of Egypt and other ODA-supported countries. The is a collaborative project with Dr Yasmin Abozeid (Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo. Egypt).

The application of powdered food wastes as a natural nitrite source in combination with lysozyme for meat curing
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Co-investigator23 Jul 201831 Aug 2018FoodWasteNet

Traditionally the curing of meats such as sausages employed the addition of inorganic nitrites. Nitrite exhibits strong antimicrobial and antioxidant effects and generates a cured meat colour. Unfortunately nitrite can react with secondary or tertiary amines in meat to form N-nitroso compounds which may produce undesirable carcinogenic, teratogenic and mutagenic activity. Recently it has been suggested that high consumption of processed meat may increase the risk of cancer, and that dietary nitrosamines are positively associated with cancer. Natural celery juice powder may be used for curing however this requires a high dosage due to the slow conversion of nitrates to nitrite. Consequently in this project the aim is to study the application of dried micronised celery waste in meat curing applications.

Crop by-product processing into nanomaterials incorporating bioactives for targeted release and shelf life extension (resubmission)
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Co-investigator01 Oct 201730 Sep 2018FoodWasteNet

Simon Collinson (Life Health & Chemical Sciences, Open University) and Nick Chatterton (Life Health & Chemical Sciences, Open University), with external collaborators at Newcastle University, Biopower Technologies Ltd, and Marks and Spencer plc A total of ca. £24K funding has been secured to support a 4 month project on the formulation and testing of crop by-product nanomaterials which incorporate anti-microbial bioactive compounds for potential usage in food grade materials and extension of their shelf-life. The work will involve electrospinning of mechanically processed crop by-products blended with other biodegradable natural polymers such as alginic acid or chitosan. The porosity of these materials will be further optimized by chemical or enzymatic processes, followed by studies on the encapsulation and controlled release of the bioactives. The anti-microbial and antioxidant activity of the bioactive-loaded nanomaterials will also be assessed. As well as the food industry, the materials are envisaged for potential use in the personal care products, pharmaceuticals and surface coatings.

Evaluating immobilised Enzymes on Chitosan for Upcycling Protein Wastes
RoleStart dateEnd dateFunding source
Co-investigator04 Jul 201626 Aug 2016IB Carb Network

This is a pilot research project for an undergraduate student. The project builds on my previous research functionalizing the carbohydrates starch and chitosan to produce new functional materials. This project will support proteases on chitosan to produce recyclable and stable catalysts for the hydrolysis of protein wastes to more valuable hydrolysates. WRAP has estimated waste in the food and drinks supply chain (WRAP 01 312 PAD102-308) reporting that ‘about 2.25 million tonnes of material are rendered each year to produce around 500,000 tonnes of protein meal.’ This example represents an important biorefinery resource for valuable proteins, peptides and amino acids. Protein containing wastes arise from several food industries and the focus here will be from cheese production (whey protein), connective tissue (the protein collagen which yields gelatin), and eggs (ovalbumin). The hydrolysates from waste proteins often display improved antioxidant properties compared to the protein and this will be also studied.

Publications

Multi-Attribute Monitoring Method for Process Development of Engineered Antibody for Site-Specific Conjugation (2023-07-05)
Hines, Alistair R.; Edgeworth, Matthew; Devine, Paul W. A.; Shepherd, Samuel; Chatterton, Nicholas; Turner, Claire; Lilley, Kathryn S.; Chen, Xiaoyu and Bond, Nicholas J.
Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry, 34(7) (pp. 1330-1341)

Cannabidiol Affects Extracellular Vesicle Release, miR21 and miR126, and Reduces Prohibitin Protein in Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells (2019-03)
Kosgodage, Uchini S.; Uysal-Onganer, Pinar; MacLatchy, Amy; Mould, Rhys; Nunn, Alistair V.; Guy, Geoffrey W.; Kraev, Igor; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Thomas, E. Louise; Inal, Jameel M.; Bell, Jimmy D. and Lange, Sigrun
Translational Oncology, 12(3) (pp. 513-522)

Peptidylarginine Deiminases Post-Translationally Deiminate Prohibitin and Modulate Extracellular Vesicle Release and MicroRNAs in Glioblastoma Multiforme. (2019-01)
Kosgodage, Uchini S.; Uysal-Onganer, Pinar; MacLatchy, Amy; Kraev, Igor; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Nicholas, Anthony P.; Inal, Jameel M. and Lange, Sigrun
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20, Article 103(1)

A comparison of the radiosensitisation ability of 22 different element metal oxide nanoparticles using clinical megavoltage X-rays (2019)
Guerreiro, Alexandra; Chatterton, Nicholas; Crabb, Eleanor and Golding, Jon
Cancer Nanotechnology, 10, Article 10

5-Fluorouracil loaded Eudragit fibers prepared by electrospinning (2015-11-30)
Illangakoon, U. Eranka; Yu, Deng-Guang; Ahmad, Bilal S.; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Williams, Gareth R.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 495(2) (pp. 895-902)

Structural lipid nanoparticles self-assembled from electrospun core–shell polymeric nanocomposites (2015)
Yu, Deng-Guang; White, Kenneth; Chatterton, Nicholas; Li, Ying; Li, Lingling and Wang, Xia
RSC Advances, 5(13) (pp. 9462-9466)

Structure-tunable Janus fibers fabricated using spinnerets with varying port angles (2015)
Chen, Gaoyun; Xu, Ying; Yu, Deng-Guang; Zhang, Dao-Fang; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and White, Kenneth N.
Chemical Communications, 51(22) (pp. 4623-4626)

Mebeverine-loaded electrospun nanofibers: physicochemical characterization and dissolution studies (2014-01)
Illangakoon, Upulitha Eranka; Nazir, Tahir; Williams, Gareth and Chatterton, Nicholas
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 103(1) (pp. 283-292)

Fast dissolving paracetamol/caffeine nanofibers prepared by electrospinning (2014)
Illangakoon, U. Eranka; Gill, Hardyal; Shearman, Gemma C.; Parhizkar, Maryam; Mahalingam, Sunthar; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Williams, Gareth R.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 477(1-2) (pp. 369-379)

Pulsatile drug release from electrospun poly(ethylene oxide)–sodium alginate blend nanofibres (2014)
Kaassis, Abdessamad Y. A.; Young, Neil; Sano, Naoko; Merchant, Hamid A.; Yu, Deng-Guang; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Williams, Gareth R.
Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2(10) (pp. 1400-1407)

Sensitized terbium(III) macrocyclic-phthalimide complexes as luminescent pH switches (2013-10-21)
Chen, Gaoyun; Wardle, Nicholas J.; Sarris, Jason; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Bligh, S. W. Annie
Dalton Transactions, 42(39) (pp. 14115-14124)

Polyacrylonitrile nanofibers coated with silver nanoparticles using a modified coaxial electrospinning process (2012-11-12)
Yu, Deng-Guang; Zhou, Jie; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Li, Ying; Huang, Jing and Wang, Xia
International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2012(7) (pp. 5725-5732)

A chemically unlocked binary molecular switch (2012-09-18)
Chen, Gaoyun; Sarris, Jason L.; Wardle, Nicholas J.; Bligh, S. W. Annie and Chatterton, Nicholas P.
Chemical Communications, 48(72) (pp. 9026-9028)

Coaxial electrospinning with Triton X-100 solutions as sheath fluids for preparing PAN nanofibers (2012-05)
Yu, Deng-Guang; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Yang, Jun-He; Wang, Xia and Liao, Yao-Zu
Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 297(5) (pp. 395-401)

Self-assembled liposomes from amphiphilic electrospun nanofibers (2011-09-21)
Yu, Deng-Guang; Branford-White, Christopher; Williams, Gareth R.; Bligh, S. W. Annie; White, Kenneth; Zhu, Li-Min and Chatterton, Nicholas P.
Soft Matter, 7(18) (pp. 8239-8247)

A modified coaxial electrospinning for preparing fibers from a high concentration polymer solution (2011-08)
Yu, D. G.; Branford-White, C.; White, K.; Chatterton, N. P.; Zhu, L. M.; Huang, L. Y. and Wang, B.
Express Polymer Letters, 5(8) (pp. 732-741)

Helium/oxygen atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment for hydrophilicity improvement of grey cotton knitted fabric (2011-06-01)
Tian, Liqiang; Nie, Huali; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Branford-White, Christopher J.; Qiu, Yiping and Zhu, Limin
Applied Surface Science, 257(16) (pp. 7113-7118)

Improving Polymer Nanofiber Quality Using a Modified Co-axial Electrospinning Process (2011-05-18)
Yu, Deng-Guang; Branford-White, Christopher; Bligh, S. W. Annie; White, Kenneth; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Zhu, Li-Min
Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 32(9-10) (pp. 744-750)

Electrospun diclofenac sodium loaded Eudragit® L 100-55 nanofibers for colon-targeted drug delivery (2011-04-15)
Shen, Xiaxia; Yu, Dengguang; Zhu, Limin; Branford-White, Christopher; White, Kenneth and Chatterton, Nicholas P.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 408(1-2) (pp. 200-207)

Preparation of core-shell PAN nanofibers encapsulated α-tocopherol acetate and ascorbic acid 2-phosphate for photoprotection (2011-01-01)
Wu, Xiao-Mei; Branford-White, Christopher J.; Yu, Deng-Guang; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Zhu, Li-Min
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 82(1) (pp. 247-252)

Electrospinning of concentrated polymer solutions (2010-12-28)
Yu, Deng-Guang; Branford-White, Christopher J.; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; White, Kenneth; Zhu, Li-Min; Shen, Xia-Xia and Nie, Wei
Macromolecules, 43(24) (pp. 10743-10746)

Ester prodrug-loaded electrospun cellulose acetate fiber mats as transdermal drug delivery systems (2010-08)
Wu, Xiao-mei; Branford-White, Christopher J.; Zhu, Li-min; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and Yu, Deng-guang
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, 21(8) (pp. 2403-2411)

Nature of the bonding in metal-silane σ-complexes (2009-02-16)
McGrady, G. Sean; Sirsch, Peter; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Ostermann, Andreas; Gatti, Carlo; Altmannshofer, Sandra; Herz, Verena; Eickerling, Georg and Scherer, Wolfgang
Inorganic Chemistry, 48(4) (pp. 1588-1598)

Relating structural and thermodynamic effects of the Pb(II) lone pair: a new picolinate ligand designed to accommodate the Pb(II) lone pair leads to high stability and selectivity (2007-04-30)
Pellissier, Aymeric; Bretonnière, Yann; Chatterton, Nicholas; Pécaut, Jacques; Delangle, Pascale and Mazzanti, Marinella
Inorganic Chemistry, 46(9) (pp. 3714-3725)

Elucidation of the bonding in Mn(η2-SiH) complexes by charge density analysis and T1 NMR measurements: asymmetric oxidative addition and anomeric effects at silicon (2006-07-28)
Scherer, Wolfgang; Eickerling, Georg; Tafipolsky, Maxim; McGrady, G. Sean; Sirsch, Peter and Chatterton, Nicholas P.
Chemical Communications(28) (pp. 2986-2988)

An efficient design for the rigid assembly of four bidentate chromophores in water-stable highly luminescent lanthanide complexes (2005-11-25)
Chatterton, Nicholas; Bretonnière, Yann; Pécaut, Jacques and Mazzanti, Marinella
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 44(46) (pp. 7595-7598)

The effect of pyridinecarboxylate chelating groups on the stability and electronic relaxation of gadolinium complexes (2005-03-21)
Chatterton, Nicholas; Gateau, Christelle; Mazzanti, Marinella; Pécaut, Jacques; Borel, Alain; Helm, Lothar and Merbach, André
Dalton Transactions(6) (pp. 1129-1135)

Structure of the elusive hydrido(methylcyclopentadienyl)dicarbonylmanganate(I) anion, [(η5-C5H4Me)Mn(CO)2H]-, as determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (2004-03-01)
Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Guilera, Gemma and McGrady, G. Sean
Organometallics, 23(5) (pp. 1165-1167)

View from the bridge: a pseudo-Jahn-Teller approach to transition metal hydrosilane complexes (2004)
Paterson, Martin J.; Chatterton, Nicholas P. and McGrady, G. Sean
New Journal of Chemistry, 28(12) (pp. 1434-1436)

Influence of the Counteranion on the Formation of Polymeric Networks by Metal Complexes of Hexamethylenebis(acetamide) (2001)
Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Goodgame, David M. L.; Grachvogel, David A.; Hussain, Izhar; White, Andrew J. P. and Williams, David J.
Inorganic Chemistry, 40(2) (pp. 312-317)

Synthesis, molecular structure and palladium(II) and platinum(II) complex chemistry of 3-(ferrocen-1-yl)-1-(pyridin-2-yl)pyrazole (1996-11-07)
Less, Robert J.; Wicks, Joseph L. M.; Chatterton, Nicholas P.; Dewey, Michael J.; Cromhout, Natalie L.; Halcrow, Malcolm A. and Davies, John E.
Journal of the Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions(21) (pp. 4055-4061)