Sign in

Alex J. Stirk

@alexjstirk.bsky.social
514 followers 529 following 106 posts

Ph.D in rotaxane containing MOFs. Now in solid state pharma. Interested in all things solid state and interlocked.

PostsRepliesMedia
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I just finished "The Invincible" by Stanisław Lem last night. Loved it!
120
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Thread. The close personal details of how this government is pulling the plug on a generation of scientific progress.
28832
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Employees write their performance review with AI. Managers use AI to read the performance review. What has been learnt here.
000
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
These fucking people are the real barbarians. Yet they've convinced themselves to be the ones preserving Alexandria.
072
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Halifax ReTales @halifaxretales.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
News Headline N.S. businesses dealing with labour shortages due to immigration cuts Rewrite NS Businesses Finding It Hard to Exploit Locals, The Same Way They Could Temporary Foreign Workers
36615
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Nature Synthesis @natsynth.nature.com · 20/07/2026
Now online: Q&A with @supersciencegrl.co.uk, an Associate Principal Scientist at AstraZeneca, who talks to @natsynth.nature.com about the challenges in developing self-driving labs and overcoming barriers for the adoption of these labs in industry. www.nature.com/articles/s44... ($) #Chemsky
nature.com
Autonomous laboratories and digital chemistry in industry - Nature Synthesis
Nature Synthesis - Autonomous laboratories and digital chemistry in industry
0157
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Guess I'll just do some research and watch Bluey to see if it's suitable for my 13 month old. *15 episodes later* This is the greatest TV show ever created.
static.klipy.com
Bluey with a Bandage
ALT: Bluey with a Bandage
010
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
YES / OUI www.canada.ca/en/canadian-...
canada.ca
Government of Canada celebrates Eurovision announcement
The Government of Canada is pleased that CBC/Radio-Canada has decided to take part in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest
000
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Then we saw WuXi promote their flow chemistry PLANT. Multiple pipes doing what we were still only playing with to see if it was viable. It struck me as a chauvinistic, potentially racist belief from corporate/federal govt back then and still does now.
020
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
WuXi is a titan. I remember back in 2020 when there was a discussion about moving manufacturing back to Canada due to COVID. There was a belief in that the only way to make that economical was to invest in flow chemistry. As if other non-Western countries couldn't harness that magical technology.
120
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Chemjobber @chemjobber.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
This is quite an interesting look at WuXi. It would be interesting to know how accurate it is in the details: www.chinatalk.media/p/the-empire...
chinatalk.media
The Biotech Empire of Wuxi
*Not* the TSMC of biotech
151
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Exactly. It'll be a long time I think until crystal structure prediction could find something like this I'd wager.
110
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Nikolay Tumanov @ntumanovxray.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Nature: - I will take one TMP cation, than I will add phenolate. And three phenol molecules, because why not. #Chemsky #chemchat #crystallography
An asymmetric unit of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-ium phenolate triphenol crystal structure.
3101
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Love weird stuff like this! Forgive for the self-promotion, but we found a neutral-salt cocrystal too. This one you're showing though has us beat for weirdness though! pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
pubs.rsc.org
An unusual ionic cocrystal of ponatinib hydrochloride: characterization by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ultra-high field NMR spectroscopy - CrystEngComm (RSC Publishing) DOI:10.1039/D3CE0106...
110
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
CrystEngComm @crystengcomm.rsc.org · 04/06/2026
🚨We are pleased to share our Editors' Choice Collection! This specially curated collection highlights some of our most popular articles published in 2025, handpicked by our Editorial Board. Read the full collection 👀👇 pubs.rsc.org/en/journals/... #Chemsky 🧪
CrystEngComm promotional graphic for the Editors' Choice Collection.
042
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
020
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Why would you just blurt out bad news like that.
110
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Anyone here going to the CSC? (X2026). Been a long time since I've been to a conference and even longer for a talk! This'll actually be my first CSC talk ever.
330
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Emilio M. Pérez @emiliomperezlab.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
We caught a chemically-driven molecular shuttle in the act! 🤫 Read @angewandtechemie.bsky.social how we use optical-tweezers with @3mlab.bsky.social to track how a two-station shuttle becomes a single-station rotaxane upon Diels-Alder reaction! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
0228
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Noel Research Group @noelgroupuva.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Self-driving labs are transforming chemistry; but high cost & complexity limit access to a few well-funded labs. We wanted to change that. Our new paper in #NatureSynthesis introduces RoboChem-Flex 🧪🤖 🔗https://nature.com/articles/s44160-026-01053-0 #selfdrivinglab #flowchemistry #optimization
02314
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I think the only reason he's saying this is because he probably watched one Sabine Hossenfelder video about particle physics. Everyone wants to be the Feynman iconoclast but none of them actually do the work to be one.
030
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I very much agree. But try and explain this to obstinate people who believe that publication metrics *objectively* prove a scientists worth. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Reckoning with my ‘ghost years’: why a low publication rate doesn’t always reflect failure
I have a five-year gap in my publication record. Last year, I published seven academic articles as either the first or corresponding author. Here’s why one level of output isn’t better than any other.
011
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Any insights into this? Or am I fortunate in not reading such papers. I'm guessing people are using it to calculate an "accurate" crystallite size?
101
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
IUCr2026 @iucr2026.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Big ideas need strong partners 🚀 Thank you to the sponsors who make IUCr2026 in Calgary possible and help strengthen the Congress each year. 🔗 Meet our sponsors: event.fourwaves.com/... Interested in sponsoring? Dan Cooke (APS): cooke@aps.org
032
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Great! What's the number? I don't have the full tools so I can't search very easily without a temporary IP ban.
100
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Checking the @ccdc.cam.ac.uk , I'm really surprised that no one seems to have reported a crystal structure of naphthalene-1,5-disulfonic acid tetrahydrate or any other polymorph/hydrate/solvate of NDSA. If I've missed any, let me know! #crystallography #chemistry
120
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
MOF Papers @mofpapers.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
A dynamic pcu MOF(Zn) containing a ditopic T-shaped [2]rotaxane linker pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLand…
TOC Graphic
021
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Big thanks to Prof. Hazem Amarne (University of Jordan). Without his push, this work would still be languishing in my thesis. Thanks habib!
000
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
New paper! One of the hardest structures I ever worked on back in the day. Took a while to convince myself that the SBU was real! #chemistry pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
pubs.rsc.org
A dynamic pcu MOF(Zn) containing a ditopic T-shaped [2]rotaxane linker - CrystEngComm (RSC Publishing) DOI:10.1039/D5CE01108F
160
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I swear, any kind of product made after the launch of generative AI is going to be completely worthless in the future.
000
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Dr Stephen Hendry @drstephenhendry.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Disabled scientists shouldn’t have to self-advocate just to do their jobs @rsc.org Accessible labs = innovation #ChemSky #DisabledInSTEM Adjustable fume hoods to assistive tech, solutions are here NOW we need action #InclusiveLabsRSC How can we drive meaningful change? www.rsc.org/news/disabil...
Front cover of the report Disability-inclusive Laboratories in the Chemical Sciences. Making chemistry accessible for everyone.
0129
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
The fire brigade then proceeds to start setting up decontamination tents and hazmat suits in order to confront the next Chornobyl. Be careful when you use the word "nuclear" folks.
190
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
A staff member saw the smoke but did not observe where the fire was coming from. As this was a large chemical plant, the local fire brigade has detailed plans for us. They called the fire brigade. "I see smoke, and a potential fire in the NMR room". "What's an NMR room?" "Nuclear magnetic resonance"
130
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
This caused a lot of smoke, but was contained by the fume hood. However, for some reason the ventilation dumped a lot of the smoke into an adjacent room. In this case, the NMR room.
120
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
So a little different, but one about science communication. This happened at a lab/chemical plant I was at. It happened in the lab next to mine while I was there but the interaction is second hand to me. There was a fire in the lab in the early morning. A hotplate had overheated and ignited.
120
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Good article. I came to Canada as an international PhD student in 2012. PR in 2020. How international students are exploited by the government and colleges is awful. Then they get blamed for all of Canada's recent problems. If you build a system, people will use it. thewalrus.ca/canada-held-...
thewalrus.ca
Canada Held the Door Open for International Students. Then Slammed It in Their Face | The Walrus
They contributed more to the GDP than the entire auto industry. Now the country doesn’t want them anymore
020
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
I really like the "0D" porosity stuff and anything with porosity. Lens work with Holman is great stuff. Bonus @ibrekalo.bsky.social! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Microporosity of a Guanidinium Organodisulfonate Hydrogen‐Bonded Framework
Pores now found! The porous polymorph of guanidinium 1,4-benzenedisulfonate, G2BDS, one of the simplest members of an archetypal class of hydrogen-bonded frameworks, was prepared from its acetone sol...
020
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Love Len's work!
110
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Darren Broom @darrenbroom.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
This paper on "Inflatable porous organic crystals", by Len Barbour & his collaborators, looks rather excellent. #ChemSky
nature.com
Inflatable porous organic crystals - Nature Materials
Reversible and unidirectional expansion of an acicular porous molecular crystal is observed with gas uptake. Using in situ structural and photomicrographic techniques, a molecular-level insight is obt...
193
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
What a treat of a day! Carys had her first ferry ride, and I became a Canadian citizen. Sworn in by Dr. Mary White no less! A materials chemist welcomes in another.
040
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
I am pivoting to being an AI consumer. It's where the attention is. I get AIs to watch the AI content for me so I don't have to.
010
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
I got accepted for a PhD in his group in 2012. I chose Canada instead. I often wonder what it would have been like to have accepted that offer.
120
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Both MOFs and MORFs in this one! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Applying reticular synthesis to the design of Cu-based MOFs with mechanically interlocked linkers - Nano Research
The concept of “robust dynamics” describes the incorporation of mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) into metal-organic framework (MOF) materials such that large amplitude motions (e.g., rotation or translation of a macrocycle) can occur inside the free volume pore of the MOF. To aid in the preparation of such materials, reticular synthesis was used herein to design rigid molecular building blocks with predetermined ordered structures starting from the well-known MOF NOTT-101. New linkers were synthesized that have a T-shape, based on a triphenylene tetra-carboxylate strut, and their incorporation into Cu(II)-based MOFs was investigated. The single-crystal structures of three new MOFs, UWCM-12 (fof), β-UWCM-13 (loz), UWCM-14 (lil), with naked T-shaped linkers were determined; β-UWCM-13 is the first reported example of the loz topology. A fourth MOF, UWDM-14 (lil) is analogous to UWCM-14 (lil) but contains a [2]rotaxane linker. Variable-temperature, 2H solid-state NMR was used to probe the dynamics of a 24-membered macrocycle threaded onto the MOF skeleton.
1143
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Link to the deposited structure that I'm pretty sure these were from (it's been a while!) www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/structures/S...
ccdc.cam.ac.uk
Search Results - Access Structures
010
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Stefano Canossa @stecanossa.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
My tutorial review on single crystal diffraction analysis is now online @crystengcomm.rsc.org! Students, supervisors, and reviewers: Please consider this thought-provoking read to discover many facets of the crystallographic practice that are often overlooked or misunderstood 💎 #crystallography
pubs.rsc.org
Useful practices in single crystal diffraction analysis of reticular structures
Single crystal diffraction analysis remains the gold standard for the three-dimensional atomic structure characterization of framework materials such as metal–organic frameworks, covalent organic fram...
45426
Reposted by Alex J. Stirk
Chemistry World @chemistryworld.com · 08/10/2025
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi are this year's winners of the Nobel prize in chemistry for their work on MOFs – just a few grams of these materials can have the same surface area as a football pitch. Julia Robinson with the details.
chemistryworld.com
2025 chemistry Nobel prize goes to the scientists behind metal–organic frameworks
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar Yaghi take top prize for discovery and development of versatile materials with a huge surface area
04614
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
We have always been at war with coordination polymers.
040
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
They can be really pretty! Here's one that's a metal-organic rotaxane framework!
3192
Alex J. Stirk @alexjstirk.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Stop DM'ing me for grant money. I don't have any.
020