• Optical Spectroscopy with Ordinary, Linearly & Circularly Polarised Light of Chiral Molecules & Biological Materials : Absolute Stereochemistry, Biopolymer Conformation, Binding of Ligands & Interaction Studies.
• Physico-chemical characterisation of Biopharmaceuticals.

Optical Spectroscopy; Physico-chemical characterisation of Biopharmaceuticals.

Alex Drake completed his PhD "Chiroptical Spectroscopy of Natural Products" in the Chemistry Department at the University of East Anglia in 1972. His post-doctoral research stay in Pisa, Italy in 1973 established a link with Italian researchers that he has maintained to this day.

Returning to the UK in 1974, he started his first stint at King's College London where he developed new instrumentation and spectral interpretation procedures in Chiroptical Spectroscopy in the KCL Chemistry Department.

After more than ten years at King's, he moved across London to Birkbeck College where, in addition to his teaching of Analytical Chemistry and research in Chiroptical Spectroscopy, he provided both the UK National Chiroptical Spectroscopy Research Facility as well as the University of London Optical Spectroscopy Service.

Since 1996, Dr Drake has been back at King's College London, this time in the Department of Pharmacy, where he has been responsible for the MSc in Pharmaceutical Analysis & Quality Control as well as continuing his research in Pharmaceutical Optical Spectroscopy.

A major part of this research has been the development of a new generation "multi-mode" Optical and CD spectrometer in conjunction with Applied Photophysics. The resulting Chirascan and Chirascan Plus instruments comprise part of the world class facilities that Dr Drake brings to King's College London.

Dr Drake has published over 190 papers and reviews, mostly in the area of Chiroptical Spectroscopy related in the main to Instrumentation, Spectroscopic Analysis, Chemical Absolute Stereochemistry (Chirality) and Protein/peptide conformation.