Dr Trinidad Velasco-Torrijos

    Chemistry, Human Health Institute

    Associate Professor

    Science Building
    2.69
    (01) 708 3747

    Biography

    BSc. Chemistry (Organic Chemistry)-Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) 1998

    PhD. Synthetic and Supramolecular Chemistry- University of Bristol (UK) 2002

    Postdoctoral researcher, Ghent University (Belgium) 2002-2003

    Postdoctoral researcher (Marie Curie Fellow), University College Dublin (Ireland) 2003-2006

    Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, BSc Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Chemistry Program Coordinator, Maynooth University (Ireland) 2007-2019

    Associate Professor, Maynooth University (Ireland) 2020-present

       

















    Research Interests

    Synthetic and Carbohydrate Chemistry
    Glycoconjugates as antimicrobials and soft materials
    Supramolecular Chemistry

    CURRENT PROJECTS:
    - Anti-Microbial and anti-parasitic Therapies: Carbohydrate recognition is key in processes like pathogen infection, regulation of protein function and cellular communication. Using Synthetic and Carbohydrate Chemistry, we aim to design bioactive glycoconjugates as novel anti-infection agents to overcome emerging drug resistance to conventional antibiotics. Projects include:
    - Glycosylated prodrugs as anti-parasitic agents
    - Anti-adhesion glycoconjugates to prevent     Candida albicans fungal infection.

    -Supramolecular Chemistry and Soft Materials:  Synthetic molecules based on carbohydrates can be designed to self-assemble and soft materials, such as Low Molecular Weight Gelators. We are developing these soft materials as novel electrospun biocompatible materials for drug-delivery and tissue engineering.




    Research Projects

    Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
    Ulysses PI The increasing number of pathogens becoming resistant to conventional anti-microbial therapies has been highlighted by the World Health Organization as a serious global threat to public health. Thus, investigation into novel and effective treatments to combat microbial infections is urgently required. The anti-adhesion approach is an emerging alternative to antimicrobial therapies that rely solely on killing on the pathogen, therefore decreasing the risk of developing resistance. For infection to occur, the pathogen must first adhere to the host cell using proteins that recognize carbohydrates on the host cell surface. Anti-adhesion antimicrobials prevent infections by blocking these proteins so that adhesion, and subsequent infection, cannot take place. Recent research conducted in Dr Velasco-Torrijos' lab has identified synthetic carbohydrates (glycoconjugates) capable of inhibiting the adhesion of pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to epithelial cells. The activity of anti-adhesion glycoconjugates increases when several of them are displayed simultaneously. This is known as the multivalent effect. In the proposed collaboration, the glycoconjugates will be attached to RAFT macrocyclic scaffolds developed in Prof Renaudet's group. The scaffolds are specifically designed to allow for the optimal multivalent presentation of bioactive groups. This synergistic approach will enhance the glycoconjugate’s ability to inhibit pathogen adhesion. 01/03/2019 01/04/2019 2500
    Supramolecular gels: Biocompatible Materials for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering PI We are studying a range of Low Molecular Weight Gelators (LMWGs) capable of self-assembling and for gels in organic and aqueous mixtures. We use these systems to functionalize electrospun fibers and develop biocompatible materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering.
    Novel Anti-Microbial therapies: Anti-Adhesion Glycoconjugates and Metal Chelators PI With antibiotic resistance on the rise, the need for novel anti-microbial treatments is evident. Anti-adhesion ligands interfere with the ability of pathogens to adhere, and subsequently infect, cells in the host organism. We have developed glycoconjugates capable of preventing fungal (Candida albicans) and bacterial (Burkholderia cepacia complex) adhesion. We have also discovered a new class of glycosylated metal chelators that show promising activity against neglected diseases such as Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. We are currently evaluating the mode of action and optimization of our lead compounds.
    Smart Delivery Technology for Infectious Disease PI 01/11/2013 31/01/2014

    Peer Reviewed Journal

    Year Publication
    2022 Alawi, Marwa,Torrijos, Trinidad Velasco,Walsh, Fiona (2022) 'Plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in drinking water'. 8 . [Link]
    2022 Guin, Saurav K.,Velasco-Torrijos, Trinidad,Dempsey, Eithne (2022) 'Explorations in a galaxy of sialic acids: a review of sensing horizons, motivated by emerging biomedical and nutritional relevance'. 1 (1):10-70. [Link]
    2022 Beirne D.F.; Dalla Via M.; Velasco-Torrijos T.; Montagner D. (2022) 'Metal-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: Targeted metal-drug conjugates'. Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 469 . [DOI]
    2021 Martin H.; Masterson H.; Kavanagh K.; Velasco-Torrijos T. (2021) 'The synthesis and evaluation of multivalent glycopeptoids as inhibitors of the adhesion of candida albicans'. Pathogens, 10 (5). [DOI]
    2021 Moynihan E.; Bassi G.; Ruffini A.; Panseri S.; Montesi M.; Velasco-Torrijos T.; Montagner D. (2021) 'Click Pt(IV)-Carbohydrates Pro-Drugs for Treatment of Osteosarcoma'. Frontiers In Chemistry, 9 . [DOI]
    2021 Sangenito L.S.; Rodrigues H.D.; Santiago S.O.; Bombaça A.C.S.; Menna-Barreto R.F.S.; Reddy A.; Branquinha M.H.; Velasco-Torrijos T.; Santos A.L.S. (2021) 'In vitro effects of bis(N-[4-(hydroxyphenyl)methyl]-2-pyridinemethamine)zinc perchlorate monohydrate 4 on the physiology and interaction process of Leishmania amazonensis'. Parasitology International, 84 . [DOI]
    2021 Martin H.; Goyard D.; Margalit A.; Doherty K.; Renaudet O.; Kavanagh K.; Velasco-Torrijos T. (2021) 'Multivalent Presentations of Glycomimetic Inhibitor of the Adhesion of Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans to Human Buccal Epithelial Cells'. Bioconjugate Chemistry, . [DOI]
    2020 Ramos J; Arufe S; Martin H; Rooney D; Elmes RBP; Erxleben A; Moreira R; Velasco-Torrijos T; (2020) 'Glycosyl squaramides, a new class of supramolecular gelators'. Soft Matter, . [DOI]
    2020 Martin H.; Kavanagh K.; Velasco-Torrijos T. (2020) 'Targeting adhesion in fungal pathogen Candida albicans'. Future Medicinal Chemistry, . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2020 Martin, H; Somers, T; Dwyer, M; Robson, R; Pfeffer, FM; Bjornsson, R; Kramer, T; Kavanagh, K; Velasco-Torrijos, T (2020) 'Scaffold diversity for enhanced activity of glycosylated inhibitors of fungal adhesion'. Rsc Medicinal Chemistry, 11 . [DOI]
    2018 O'Flaherty R.; Velasco-Torrijos T. (2018) 'Glycosylated α-Azido Amino Acids: Versatile Intermediates in the Synthesis of Neoglycoconjugates'. Synlett, 29 (7):904-907. [DOI]
    2018 Martin H; Govern MM; Abbey L; Gilroy A; Mullins S; Howell S; Kavanagh K; Velasco-Torrijos T; (2018) 'Inhibition of adherence of the yeast Candida albicans to buccal epithelial cells by synthetic aromatic glycoconjugates'. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 160 . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2017 Gnahore, GT; Velasco-Torrijos, T; Colleran, J (2017) 'The Selective Electrochemical Detection of Dopamine Using a Sulfated beta-Cyclodextrin Carbon Paste Electrode'. Electrocatalysis, 8 :459-471. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2017 Byrne, J; Reinhardt, R; Velasco-Torrijos, T (2017) 'Polymorphism in Commercial Sources of Fusidic Acid: A Comparative Study of the In Vitro Release Characteristics of Forms I and III from a Marketed Pharmaceutical Cream'. Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry, . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2017 Reddy A; Sangenito LS; Guedes AA; Branquinha MH; Kavanagh K; McGinley J; Dos Santos ALS; Velasco-Torrijos T; (2017) 'Glycosylated metal chelators as anti-parasitic agents with tunable selectivity'. Dalton Transactions, 46 (16). [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2016 Ramos J.; Arufe S.; O'Flaherty R.; Rooney D.; Moreira R.; Velasco-Torrijos T. (2016) 'Selective aliphatic/aromatic organogelation controlled by the side chain of serine amphiphiles'. RSC Advances, 6 (109):108093-108104. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2016 Byrne J, Wyraz A, Velasco-Torrijos T, Reinhardt R (2016) 'Formulation factors affecting the isomerization rate of betamethasone-17-valerate in a developmental hydrophilic cream – a HPLC and microscopy based stability study'. Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 21 :1-8. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2015 Byrne, J; Velasco-Torrijos, T; Reinhardt, R (2015) 'An RP-HPLC Method for the Stability-Indicating Analysis of Impurities of Both Fusidic Acid and Betamethasone-17-Valerate in a Semi-Solid Pharmaceutical Dosage Form'. Journal of Chromatographic Science, 53 :1498-1503. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2014 Byrne, J; Velasco-Torrijos, T; Reinhardt, R (2014) 'Development and validation of a novel stability-indicating HPLC method for the simultaneous assay of betamethasone-17-valerate, fusidic acid, potassium sorbate, methylparaben and propylparaben in a topical cream preparation'. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 96 :111-117. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2014 Migas, UM; Abbey, L; Velasco-Torrijos, T; McManus, JJ (2014) 'Adding glycolipid functionality to model membranes - phase behaviour of a synthetic glycolipid in a phospholipid membrane'. Soft Matter, 10 :3978-3983. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2013 Bernardi Anna, Jesus Jimnez-Barbero , Alessandro Casnati , Cristina De Castro , Tamis Darbre , Franck Fieschi , Jukka Finne , Horst Funken , Karl-Erich Jaeger , Martina Lahmann , Thisbe K. Lindhorst , Marco Marradi , Paul Messner , Antonio Molinaro , Paul V. Murphy , Cristina Nativi , Stefan Oscarson , Soledad Penads , Francesco Peri , Roland J. Pieters , Olivier Renaudet , Jean-Louis Reymond , Barbara Richichi , Javier Rojo , Francesco Sansone , Christina Schffer , W. Bruce Turnbull , Velasco-Torrijos Trinidad, Sbastien Vidal , Stphane Vincent , Tom Wennekes , Han Zuilhof and Anne Imberty (2013) 'Multivalent glycoconjugates as anti-pathogenic agents '. Chemical Society Reviews, 1 . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2012 Wright, Ciara; Leyden, Rosaria; Murphy, Paul V.; Callaghan, Maire; Velasco-Torrijos, Trinidad; McClean, Siobhan. (2012) 'Inhibition of Burkholderia multivorans adhesion to lung epithelial cells by bivalent lactosides '. Molecules, 17 :10065-1007. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2009 Andre S, Velasco-Torrijos T, Leyden R, Gouin S, Tosin M, Murphy PV, Gabius HJ. (2009) 'Phenylenediamine-based bivalent glycocyclophanes: synthesis and analysis of the influence of scaffold rigidity and ligand spacing on lectin binding in cell systems with different glycomic profiles'. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 7 :4715-4725. [Full-Text]
    2009 Leyden R, Velasco-Torrijos T, Andre S, Gouin S, Gabius HJ, MurphyPV, (2009) 'Synthesis of Bivalent Lactosides Based on Terephthalamide, N,N'-Diglucosylterephthalamide, and Glycophane Scaffolds and Assessment of Their Inhibitory Capacity on Medically Relevant Lectins'. Journal of Organic Chemistry, 74 :9010-9026. [Full-Text]
    2005 Müller-Bunz H, Velasco-Torrijos T, Murphy PV, (2005) 'The crystal structure of a cyclic glycolipid reveals a carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction interface'. Carbohydrate Research, 340 :1437-1440.
    2005 Halila S, Velasco T, De Clercq P, Madder A (2005) 'Fine-tuning furan toxicity: fast and quantitative DNA interchain cross-link formation upon selective oxidation of a furan containing oligonucleotide'. Chemical Communications, :936-938.
    2005 Velasco-Torrijos T, Murphy, PV (2005) 'Synthesis and conformational analysis of novel water soluble macrocycles incorporating carbohydrates, including a beta-cyclodextrin mimic'. 16 :261-272.
    2004 Velasco-Torrijos T, Murphy PV (2004) 'Metathesis of structurally preorganised bivalent carbohydrates. Synthesis of macrocyclic and oligomeric scaffolds'. Organic Letters, 5 :3961-3964.
    2004 Velasco T, Lecollinet G, Ryan T Davis AP (2004) 'Tuning selectivity in macrotricyclic carbohydrate receptors; CH to N mutations in aromatic spacers'. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2 :645-647.
    2002 Ryan TJ, Lecollinet G, Velasco T, Davis AP (2002) 'Phase transfer of monosaccharides through noncovalent interactions: selective extraction of glucose by a lipophilic cage receptor'. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, USA, 99 :4863-4866.
    2002 Lecollinet G, Dominey AP, Velasco T, Davis AP (2002) 'Highly selective disaccharide recognition by a tricyclic octaamide cage'. ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION IN ENGLISH, 41 :4093-4096.

    Book Chapter

    Year Publication
    2017 Reddy, A; Ramos-Ondono, J; Abbey, L; Velasco-Torrijos, T; Ziegler, T (2017) '2-Chloroethyl and 2-Azidoethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-gluco- and beta-D-galactopyranosides' In: CARBOHYDRATE CHEMISTRY: PROVEN SYNTHETIC METHODS, VOL 4. BOCA RATON : CRC PRESS-TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP.
    2008 Trinidad Velasco-Torrijos, Paul V. Murphy (2008) 'Monosaccharides as Scaffolds for the Synthesis of Novel Compounds' In: Bertram O. Fraser-Reid, Kuniaki Tatsuta, Joachim Thiem, Gregory L. Coté, Sabine Flitsch, Yamammoto Ito, Hirosato Kondo, Shin-Ichiro Nishimura, Biao Yu(Eds.). Glycoscience: Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 2nd edition. : Springer.

    Conference Contribution

    Year Publication
    2009 (2009) O-Serine Glycosides as Versatile Building Blocks i 15th European Carbohydrate Symposium Vienna, .
    2009 Trinidad Velasco-Torrijos (2009) O-Serine Glycosides: Building Blocks in Glycomimetic synthesis Royal Society of Chemistry Regional Symposium Belfast, .

    Thesis

    Year Publication
    2002 Dr Trinidad Velasco-Torrijos (2002) Towards a Second Generation of Macrocyclic Receptors for Carbohydrate Recognition. University of Bristol: THES
    Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.