Darren Tomlinson
- Areas of expertise
- Darren Tomlinson is an expert in the use of a novel molecular recognition tool, called an Adhiron (previously known as an Affimer) in biotechnological applications. An Adhiron is a scaffold protein that constrains loops for molecular recognition. They can be used as alternative reagents to antibodies for diagnostic and other applications
- Location
- UK: University of Leeds
- Website
- Darren Tomlinson's homepage
Professor Darren Tomlinson is Professor of Protein Engineering and Head of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds. He co-invented Adhirons (formerly Affimers), engineered binding proteins used to probe protein function and identify druggable sites. His research focuses on uncovering cryptic and allosteric mechanisms in challenging targets, including Ras GTPases, Aurora A kinase, and proteins linked to antimicrobial resistance. This work spans fundamental biology and translation, with applications in drug discovery, diagnostics, and biotechnology, supported by close collaborations with industry.
Publications
Rapid Quantification of C. difficile Glutamate Dehydrogenase and Toxin B (TcdB) with a NanoBiT Split-Luciferase Assay.
Adamson H., Ajayi M.O., Gilroy K.E., McPherson M.J., Tomlinson D.C., and Jeuken L.J.C.
Analytical Chemistry 2022 Jun 14; 94(23):8156-8163.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c05206.
Affimer-enzyme-inhibitor switch sensor for rapid wash-free assays of multimeric proteins.
Adamson H., Ajayi M., Campbell E., Brachi E., Tiede C., Tang A.A., et al.
ACS Sensors 2019 Oct 3, 2019, 4, 11, 3014–3022.
DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.9b01574.
Affimer proteins are versatile and renewable affinity reagents.
Tiede C., Bedford R., Heseltine S.J., Smith G., Wijetunga I., Ross R., et al.
Elife. 2017 Jun 27;6. pii: e24903.
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.24903.