Prof. LO Kam Wing Kenneth (羅錦榮)

Prof. Kenneth Lo obtained his BSc (1993) and PhD (1997) degrees at The University of Hong Kong.  His PhD work centered on the design of luminescent transition metal complexes as DNA and metal-ion probes; and the photophysical and photochemical studies of luminescent polynuclear coinage metal chalcogenide complexes.  From 1997 to 1999, he worked as a Croucher Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the research groups of Prof. H. Allen O. Hill, FRS and Dr. Luet-Lok Wong of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford.  He carried out research work on genetic engineering and electrochemistry of cytochrome P450cam and putidaredoxin.  Prof. Lo joined the Department of Biology and Chemistry (currently Department of Chemistry) of City University of Hong Kong as Assistant Professor in 1999 and became Associate Professor (Scale B) in 2003, Associate Professor (Scale A) in 2007, Professor in 2011, and Chair Professor in 2023.  He is currently the Program Leader of BSc (Hons) Chemistry.  At the College level, he is a member of the College Board.  At the University level, he is the Director of the Talent and Education Development Office.

Prof. Lo's research interest is the utilization of luminescent inorganic and organometallic transition metal complexes as biomolecular and cellular probes, with a focus on the development of intracellular sensors, photoactive labels, and bioimaging reagents.  He received The APA Prize for Young Scientist from The Asian and Oceanian Photochemistry Association in 2005 and The Distinguished Lectureship Award from The Chemical Society of Japan in 2011.  He was awarded a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship from the Croucher Foundation in 2015 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) in 2018.  He also received the CityU College of Science Inaugural Teaching Excellence Award (2021 – 2022) and the CityU Teaching Excellence Award (2022 – 2023).  He was one of the Chairs of the Gordon Research Conference Metals in Medicine 2018 and is the Chair of the 23rd International Symposium of the Photochemistry and Photophysics of Coordination Compounds (ISPPCC 2019).  He was on the Editorial Advisory Board of Inorganic Chemistry (2015 – 2017) and the Advisory Board of RSC Advances (2013 – 2015).  He served as an Associate Editor for RSC Advances (2015 – 2020) and has been an Associate Editor for Inorganic Chemistry since 2020.

•   Inorganic and organometallic photochemistry and photophysics
•   Luminescent and photofunctional molecular probes
•   Bioconjugation, biomolecular sensing, and bioimaging

Selected Publications

1. Shum, J.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Chiang, M. W.-L.; Lam, Y.-W.; Lo, K. K.-W.* A Concerted Enzymatic and Bioorthogonal Approach for Extracellular and Intracellular Activation of Environment-Sensitive Ruthenium(II)-Based Imaging Probes and Photosensitizers. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023, 62, e202303931.
2. Zhu, R.; Dai, P.; Yang, J.; Zhou, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, K. Y.;* Li, Y.;* Liu, S.; Lo, K. K.-W.; Zhao, Q.* Dual-Emissive Iridium(III) Complexes as Phosphorescent Probes with Orthogonal Responses to Analyte Binding and Oxygen Quenching. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023, 62, e202309178.
3. Lee, L. C.-C.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Luminescent and Photofunctional Transition Metal Complexes: From Molecular Design to Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2022, 144, 14420 – 14440.
4. Huang, L.; Leung, P. K.-K.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Xu, G.-X.; Lam, Y.-W.;* Lo, K. K.-W.* Photofunctional Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Polypyridine Methylsulfone Complexes as Sulfhydryl-specific Reagents for Bioconjugation, Bioimaging and Photocytotoxic Applications. Chemical Communications 2022, 58, 10162 – 10165.
5. Yip, A. M.-H.; Lai, C. K.-H.; Yiu, K. S.-M.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Phosphorogenic Iridium(III) bis-Tetrazine Complexes for Bioorthogonal Peptide Stapling, Bioimaging, Photocytotoxic Applications, and the Construction of Nanosized Hydrogels. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2022, 61, e202116078.
6. Zhu, J.-H.; Xu, G.-X.; Shum, J.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Tuning the Organelle Specificity and Cytotoxicity of Iridium(III) Photosensitizers for Enhanced Phototheranostic Applications. Chemical Communications 2021, 57, 12008 – 12011.
7. Leung, P. K.-K.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Ip, T. K.-Y.; Liu, H.-W.; Yiu, S.-M.; Lee, N. P.;* Lo, K. K.-W.* Luminescent Rhenium(I) Perfluorobiphenyl Complexes as Site-specific Labels for Peptides to Afford Photofunctional Bioconjugates. Chemical Communications 2021, 57, 11256 – 11259.
8. Xu, G.-X.; Mak, E. C.-L.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Photofunctional Transition Metal Complexes as Cellular Probes, Bioimaging Reagents and Phototherapeutics. Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 2021, 8, 4553 – 4579.
9. Zhu, J.-H.; Yiu, S.-M.; Tang, B. Z.;* Lo, K. K.-W.* Luminescent Neutral Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes Featuring a Cubic Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane for Lipid Droplet Imaging and Photocytotoxic Applications. Inorganic Chemistry 2021, 60, 11672 – 11683.
10. Leung, P. K.-K.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Yeung, H. H.-Y.; Io, K.-W.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Bioorthogonal Control of the Phosphorescence and Singlet Oxygen Photosensitization Properties of Iridium(III) Tetrazine Complexes. Chemical Communications 2021, 57, 4914 – 4917.
11. Law, A. S.-Y.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Lo, K. K.-W.;* Yam, V. W.-W.* Aggregation and Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Low-Energy Red Luminescent Alkynylplatinum(II) Complexes for RNA Detection, Nucleolus Imaging, and RNA Synthesis Inhibitor Screening. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2021, 143, 5396 – 5405.
12. Lee, L. C.-C.; Tsang, A. W.-Y.; Liu, H.-W.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Photofunctional Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Polypyridine Complexes Bearing a Perfluorobiphenyl Moiety for Bioconjugation, Bioimaging, and Phototherapeutic Applications. Inorganic Chemistry 2020, 59, 14796 – 14806.
13. Leung, P. K.-K.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Modulation of Emission and Singlet Oxygen Photosensitisation in Live Cells Utilizing Bioorthogonal Phosphorogenic Probes and Protein Tag Technology. Chemical Communications 2020, 56, 6074 – 6077.
14. Lo, K. K.-W.* Molecular Design of Bioorthogonal Probes and Imaging Reagents Derived from Photofunctional Transition Metal Complexes. Accounts of Chemical Research 2020, 53, 32 – 44.
15. Law, A. S.-Y.; Lee, L. C.-C.; Yeung, M. C.-L.; Lo, K. K.-W.; Yam, V. W.-W.* Amyloid Protein-Induced Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Water-Soluble Platinum(II) Complexes: A Luminescence Assay for Amyloid Fibrillation Detection and Inhibitor Screening. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2019, 141, 18570 – 18577.
16. Shum, J.; Leung, P. K.-K.; Lo, K. K.-W.* Luminescent Ruthenium(II) Polypyridine Complexes for a Wide Variety of Biomolecular and Cellular Applications. Inorganic Chemistry 2019, 58, 2231 – 2247.
17. Zhang, K. Y.; Gao, P.; Sun, G.; Zhang, T.; Li, X.; Liu, S.; Zhao, Q.;* Lo, K. K.-W.;* Huang, W.* Dual-phosphorescent Iridium(III) Complexes Extending Oxygen Sensing from Hypoxia to Hyperoxia. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2018, 140, 7827 – 7834.