Engineering chemical selectivity from metal complexes to protein-confined receptors.

Chemistry has long sought to emulate one of Nature’s most remarkable achievements: the ability of biological systems to recognize specific molecules with extraordinary affinity and selectivity. From enzymes to membrane receptors, molecular recognition governs virtually every biological process.

My work explores molecular recognition as a general chemical principle. Coordination chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, fluorescence sensing and biomolecular systems are used as complementary tools to understand how selective recognition emerges from increasingly complex chemical environments.

Across simple metal complexes, self-assembled ruthenium architectures and protein-confined receptors, the central objective remains unchanged: to understand how chemical environments govern recognition and how these principles can be translated into practical sensing, diagnostics and catalysis.

I established a long-term chemistry research programme at the Gymnase de Bienne et du Jura bernois, where high-school students participate in genuine research projects addressing unanswered questions in coordination chemistry and molecular sensing.

This educational laboratory evolved beyond its original pedagogical objectives, leading to peer-reviewed publications, Swiss Chemical Society presentations, scientific awards and international collaborations.

The experience shaped my scientific philosophy: creativity often emerges from simplicity, and meaningful discoveries do not necessarily require sophisticated infrastructures but rather well-formulated scientific questions.