New Chiral Metal Catalysts; Going Beyond the State of the Art. The synthesis of both natural and unnatural organic compounds in optically active form is a central challenge in chemistry. Because the most important molecules in nature are chiral and of specific handedness, there exists a growing need to access any given organic compound in its optically pure form. Asymmetric catalysis offers the most elegant way to solving this problem and this project will target some of the difficult challenges ....New Chiral Metal Catalysts; Going Beyond the State of the Art. The synthesis of both natural and unnatural organic compounds in optically active form is a central challenge in chemistry. Because the most important molecules in nature are chiral and of specific handedness, there exists a growing need to access any given organic compound in its optically pure form. Asymmetric catalysis offers the most elegant way to solving this problem and this project will target some of the difficult challenges in realising asymmetric synthesis, building new, privileged chiral ligands, opening new catalytic pathways for constructing chiral compounds and understanding the intimate catalytic pathway that enables reactivity and selectivity. This will generate applications across the chemical industries.Read moreRead less
Design and synthesis of novel lanthanoid complexes for the fabrication of light emitting devices. There is a huge and still growing economy centred around the design and fabrication of low-cost Light Emitting Devices (LEDs), as demonstrated by the excess of US$1.3 billion invested in this field between 2000 and 2007. Nations focused on the production of new and more efficient materials will be at the forefront of these emerging technologies. The major thrust of this proposal, the design and prep ....Design and synthesis of novel lanthanoid complexes for the fabrication of light emitting devices. There is a huge and still growing economy centred around the design and fabrication of low-cost Light Emitting Devices (LEDs), as demonstrated by the excess of US$1.3 billion invested in this field between 2000 and 2007. Nations focused on the production of new and more efficient materials will be at the forefront of these emerging technologies. The major thrust of this proposal, the design and preparation of luminescent rare earths complexes, and their use for the fabrication of LEDS, represent a good opportunity for Australia to access this growing market. Read moreRead less
Ferrihydrite : Fundamentals of a Natural Nanomaterial. The overarching goal of this project is to obtain the depth of knowledge necessary to achieve specific size, composition and morphology control in the crystallization of nanometer-sized iron oxides. The project focusses on the structural characteristics of the oxy-hydroxide phase ferrihydrite, which is a key intermediate in the formation of other iron oxides. The project will employ characterization techniques such as small-angle scattering ....Ferrihydrite : Fundamentals of a Natural Nanomaterial. The overarching goal of this project is to obtain the depth of knowledge necessary to achieve specific size, composition and morphology control in the crystallization of nanometer-sized iron oxides. The project focusses on the structural characteristics of the oxy-hydroxide phase ferrihydrite, which is a key intermediate in the formation of other iron oxides. The project will employ characterization techniques such as small-angle scattering, high resolution TEM, electron nanodiffraction and magnetic energy barrier distribution measurements to study crystallization processes of the iron oxy-hydroxide ferrihydrite, both in vivo and in vitro. The knowledge gained from the biological realm will allow us to devise new laboratory techniques for the preparation of nanoparticles, and provide important information about iron biomineralization to advance the treatment of iron overload diseases.Read moreRead less
Structural studies of titanyl and zirconyl sulfate hydrates. This project aims to provide knowledge that will inform the development of new methods of extraction and refining of titanium from ilmenite ores. In addition the knowledge gained in this research will aid the design and synthesis advanced ceramics and nanocomposites, and will provide the fundamental understanding of material structures that are required to adequately control the formation of such materials.
NMR Studies of Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these ne ....NMR Studies of Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students.Read moreRead less
DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. Mechanistic NMR studies probing the origin of the unique antitumour activity of BBR3464. BBR3464 is one of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs that is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is quite different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow the processes involved in the initial binding of the dr ....DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. Mechanistic NMR studies probing the origin of the unique antitumour activity of BBR3464. BBR3464 is one of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs that is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is quite different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow the processes involved in the initial binding of the drug to DNA and the subsequent reactions of the adducts formed. The results of this work will aid in the selection of back-up clinical candidates and in the design of drugs that target specific sequences of DNA for use in novel gene-based therapies.Read moreRead less
Probing polynuclear platinum biomolecule interactions. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration with the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at t ....Probing polynuclear platinum biomolecule interactions. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration with the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students. Read moreRead less
Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Mechanistic NMR Studies Probing DNA Binding and Pharmacokinetics. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration betwe ....Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Mechanistic NMR Studies Probing DNA Binding and Pharmacokinetics. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students. Read moreRead less
NMR studies on DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. BBR3464 is representative of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs, and is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow in detail the stepwise formation of DNA adducts. Further extension to reactions of polynuclear platinum complexes with sulfur ....NMR studies on DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. BBR3464 is representative of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs, and is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow in detail the stepwise formation of DNA adducts. Further extension to reactions of polynuclear platinum complexes with sulfur nucleophiles will aid in understanding their metabolism and toxicity. The results of this work will aid in the selection of back-up clinical candidates and the design of drugs that target specific sequences of DNA for use in novel gene-based therapies.Read moreRead less
Gold phosphine and carbene complexes as potential antimitochondrial anticancer agents: design, synthesis and biological chemistry. To overcome the two major problems associated with existing anticancer drugs (resistance to therapy and lack of discrimination between normal and cancer cells) there is much current interest in targeting mitochondrial cell death pathways in chemotherapy. This project will probe the mode of action of a series of gold complexes containing pyridylphosphines that may ac ....Gold phosphine and carbene complexes as potential antimitochondrial anticancer agents: design, synthesis and biological chemistry. To overcome the two major problems associated with existing anticancer drugs (resistance to therapy and lack of discrimination between normal and cancer cells) there is much current interest in targeting mitochondrial cell death pathways in chemotherapy. This project will probe the mode of action of a series of gold complexes containing pyridylphosphines that may act by an antimitochondrial mechanism. Also, we will evaluate a new family of gold complexes based on carbene rather than phosphine components. Such compounds offer the potential advantages of ease of synthesis, lower toxicity and the ability to fine-tune molecular properties to maximise anticancer activity.Read moreRead less