Novel Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials: Elucidation of key properties for device development. As the former co-director of CSIRO Nanotechnology indicated to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, 'Nanotechnology will lead us into a very different future.' The proposed research on nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices. Imagine healthcare of human diseases when nanocomponents enable the design of new platforms f ....Novel Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials: Elucidation of key properties for device development. As the former co-director of CSIRO Nanotechnology indicated to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2003, 'Nanotechnology will lead us into a very different future.' The proposed research on nanomaterial interactions and biomolecular incorporation protocols will provide a foundation for future bioelectronic devices. Imagine healthcare of human diseases when nanocomponents enable the design of new platforms for devices that give point-of-care diagnosis, or the impact on the semiconductor industry with the creation of flexible electronics. Educational outreach is an important aim of the project, providing effective research training for early career researchers.Read moreRead less
Biomolecular films on silicon substrates. Construction of hybrid carbon-silicon devices in which molecular organic molecular films are covalently linked to silicon wafers. Biomolecular nanostructures on silicon wafers can be studied using unique impedance spectroscopy instrumentation that we have developed as well as X-ray and neutron reflectometry. The system will be used to study a variety of molecular films as well as molecularly tethered lipid bilayer membranes that mimic aspects of cell mem ....Biomolecular films on silicon substrates. Construction of hybrid carbon-silicon devices in which molecular organic molecular films are covalently linked to silicon wafers. Biomolecular nanostructures on silicon wafers can be studied using unique impedance spectroscopy instrumentation that we have developed as well as X-ray and neutron reflectometry. The system will be used to study a variety of molecular films as well as molecularly tethered lipid bilayer membranes that mimic aspects of cell membranes and these will be used to investigate the effect of sterols on such membranes.Read moreRead less
Metalloproteins and metalloenzymes. Most of the chemical reactions and physical movements in living systems are carried out by proteins. The information for producing proteins from amino acids is stored in the genes, but many biological processes depend on additional atoms or molecules ('cofactors') that are added to a protein after it is assembled. For example, more than 30% of all proteins contain metal atoms which are essential for their function. We are studying the structures of such meta ....Metalloproteins and metalloenzymes. Most of the chemical reactions and physical movements in living systems are carried out by proteins. The information for producing proteins from amino acids is stored in the genes, but many biological processes depend on additional atoms or molecules ('cofactors') that are added to a protein after it is assembled. For example, more than 30% of all proteins contain metal atoms which are essential for their function. We are studying the structures of such metalloproteins and metalloenzymes so that we can better understand their activities with long term aims of creating new molecules for biotechnology and/or drugs.Read moreRead less
The Study of Pretreatment Options for Composite Fouling of Reverse Osmosis Membranes Used in Water Treatment and Production. It is recognised worldwide that fouling is a major impediment in operation of Reverse Osmosis units used for production, purification and treatment of water. This project is aimed at studying pre-treatment options for composite fouling which is the main type of fouling present in RO units by using both model feed systems and actual field water. The project outcomes are to ....The Study of Pretreatment Options for Composite Fouling of Reverse Osmosis Membranes Used in Water Treatment and Production. It is recognised worldwide that fouling is a major impediment in operation of Reverse Osmosis units used for production, purification and treatment of water. This project is aimed at studying pre-treatment options for composite fouling which is the main type of fouling present in RO units by using both model feed systems and actual field water. The project outcomes are to understand and develop pre-treatment strategies and to use those to develop a hybrid pre-treatment technology. This project will significantly impact water production in general and its outcomes will have far-reaching implications in treatment of water both within Australia and globally.Read moreRead less
The Boron Rejection by RO Membranes in presence of Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium Hydroxide. Water scarcity in various parts of the world demands the use of available saline waters for production of potable water. Reverse Osmosis membranes have been used as a means of achieving this objective. Fouling is a major impediment in operation of reverse osmosis units. The project aims to study boron removal by RO under high pH which increases the boron rejection but at the same time exacerbates compos ....The Boron Rejection by RO Membranes in presence of Calcium Carbonate and Magnesium Hydroxide. Water scarcity in various parts of the world demands the use of available saline waters for production of potable water. Reverse Osmosis membranes have been used as a means of achieving this objective. Fouling is a major impediment in operation of reverse osmosis units. The project aims to study boron removal by RO under high pH which increases the boron rejection but at the same time exacerbates composite fouling by calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide. Optimum pH for boron rejection will be determined and propensity of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide at that pH range will be evaluated.Read moreRead less
The role of floc structure in the formation of sediments and filter cakes. The project aims to understand at a fundamental level if and in what way the fractal structure of aggregates of fine particles is preserved when forming sediments and filter cakes. The effect of this structure on processes for separating solids and liquids is significant: each year, millions of dollars stand to be saved though more efficient filtration, and more efficient thickening of mineral slurries. Improved understan ....The role of floc structure in the formation of sediments and filter cakes. The project aims to understand at a fundamental level if and in what way the fractal structure of aggregates of fine particles is preserved when forming sediments and filter cakes. The effect of this structure on processes for separating solids and liquids is significant: each year, millions of dollars stand to be saved though more efficient filtration, and more efficient thickening of mineral slurries. Improved understanding allows intelligent design of flocculation systems to optimise the performance of downstream solid - liquid separation processes, maximising economic and environmental returns.Read moreRead less
Enhanced biocatalysis in organic solvents for pharmaceutical biotransformation. Enzymes such as hydrolases play an important role in biotechnology because of their extreme versatility with respect to substrate specificity and stereoselectivity. The use of lipases as catalysts for optical isomer-specific organic reactions is often limited by unacceptably low enantioselectivities. We will investigate recombinant enzymes cloned from thermophilic lipolytic bacteria for synthetic reactions in orga ....Enhanced biocatalysis in organic solvents for pharmaceutical biotransformation. Enzymes such as hydrolases play an important role in biotechnology because of their extreme versatility with respect to substrate specificity and stereoselectivity. The use of lipases as catalysts for optical isomer-specific organic reactions is often limited by unacceptably low enantioselectivities. We will investigate recombinant enzymes cloned from thermophilic lipolytic bacteria for synthetic reactions in organic solvents, especially chiral resolution of mixtures in the production of pharmaceutical intermediates. Genetic improvement of lipase enantiospecificity and regioselectivity will be achieved using in vitro evolution by recombination and screening. The outcome will be cost-effective production superior biocatalysts with specifically enhanced regiospecific, enantioselective and hydrolytic characteristics.
Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,000.00
Summary
A unique soft matter high-performance scanning probe microscopy (HP-SPM) facility. Soft matter research touches every aspect of our lives as it covers materials from the range of plastics found in cars, television sets and other mass-manufactured products, to new medical materials for tissue engineering and sensors. The proposed facility will enable Australia's leading scientists in this area to understand better how soft matter, including both biological and new advanced soft materials, behave ....A unique soft matter high-performance scanning probe microscopy (HP-SPM) facility. Soft matter research touches every aspect of our lives as it covers materials from the range of plastics found in cars, television sets and other mass-manufactured products, to new medical materials for tissue engineering and sensors. The proposed facility will enable Australia's leading scientists in this area to understand better how soft matter, including both biological and new advanced soft materials, behaves on the nano-scale level. This will put Australian researchers and engineers in a leading position for developing new treatments against cancer and other diseases, as well as harnessing the power of biology for application in areas such as waste treatment and energy production.Read moreRead less