Development of an Adjustable Porphyrin-based Molecular Platform for Nanotechnology Applications. Nanotechnology, the art of molecular control, is often heralded as the next industrial revolution. For this to be realised, the construction of useful devices will require precise control at the molecular level. Our control is realised through a process called self-assembly which means that the once the components of the device are correctly designed, the device will simply be able to put itself tog ....Development of an Adjustable Porphyrin-based Molecular Platform for Nanotechnology Applications. Nanotechnology, the art of molecular control, is often heralded as the next industrial revolution. For this to be realised, the construction of useful devices will require precise control at the molecular level. Our control is realised through a process called self-assembly which means that the once the components of the device are correctly designed, the device will simply be able to put itself together. This research will use nature's light harvesting elements, namely porphyrins, and our ability to precisely control their position with respect to each other to build new, more efficient solar cells.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354640
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Young Investigators Network on Next Generation Electronic Devices. This initiative will build an active, dynamic and strongly interdisciplinary network of young Australian scientists (most awarded their Ph.D. after 1985) working on the development of innovative electronic devices - a national research priority area with enormous economic and technological opportunity. The network will enable a nationally coordinated, internationally competitive approach that capitalizes on untapped opportunitie ....Young Investigators Network on Next Generation Electronic Devices. This initiative will build an active, dynamic and strongly interdisciplinary network of young Australian scientists (most awarded their Ph.D. after 1985) working on the development of innovative electronic devices - a national research priority area with enormous economic and technological opportunity. The network will enable a nationally coordinated, internationally competitive approach that capitalizes on untapped opportunities, utilises existing/emerging Australian expertise and develops strong supporting links with similar networks overseas. The initiative will produce a public showcase of Australian strengths and opportunities in this field, and enable stronger collaborations and cooperative logistics management through the development of a dedicated network management website.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100381
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,000.00
Summary
Facilitating detection of new psychoactive substances in wastewater. This project aims to develop and apply novel analytical methods for detecting new psychoactive substances (NPS) in wastewater. NPS are a dynamic, complex addition to the illicit drug market, and a persistent analytical challenge for wastewater analysis. This project expects to fill the current knowledge gap in detection and identification of these substances in wastewater. This will provide substantial benefits both to Australi ....Facilitating detection of new psychoactive substances in wastewater. This project aims to develop and apply novel analytical methods for detecting new psychoactive substances (NPS) in wastewater. NPS are a dynamic, complex addition to the illicit drug market, and a persistent analytical challenge for wastewater analysis. This project expects to fill the current knowledge gap in detection and identification of these substances in wastewater. This will provide substantial benefits both to Australia and internationally by aiding development of early warning drug monitoring systems, providing the rapid deployment of interventions to reduce drug-related harm in the local community, while facilitating law and government agencies to better direct resources.Read moreRead less
Modelling of multiscale systems in engineering and science supports large-scale equation-free simulations and analysis. A persistent feature of complex systems in engineering and science is the emergence of macroscopic, coarse grained, coherent behaviour from the interactions of microscopic agents (molecules, cells) and with their environment. In current modeling, ranging from ecology to materials science, the underlying microscopic mechanisms are known, but the closures to translate microscale ....Modelling of multiscale systems in engineering and science supports large-scale equation-free simulations and analysis. A persistent feature of complex systems in engineering and science is the emergence of macroscopic, coarse grained, coherent behaviour from the interactions of microscopic agents (molecules, cells) and with their environment. In current modeling, ranging from ecology to materials science, the underlying microscopic mechanisms are known, but the closures to translate microscale knowledge to a system level macroscopic description are rarely available in closed form. Our novel, equation free, computational methodologies will circumvent this stumbling block, and promises to radically change the modeling, exploration and understanding of complex system behavior. We continue to develop this powerful computational methodology. Read moreRead less
Mycobacterial Cholesterol Degradation: A Unique Metabolic Weakness? This project aims to understand the use of the steroid cholesterol as a source of essential metabolic building blocks by bacteria. Cholesterol utilisation is a key feature of many bacterial pathogens which have evolved to survive in niche environments. By understanding the initial step in cholesterol degradation and the bioinorganic and bioorganic chemistry of the metalloenzymes that catalyse it, this work aims to develop strate ....Mycobacterial Cholesterol Degradation: A Unique Metabolic Weakness? This project aims to understand the use of the steroid cholesterol as a source of essential metabolic building blocks by bacteria. Cholesterol utilisation is a key feature of many bacterial pathogens which have evolved to survive in niche environments. By understanding the initial step in cholesterol degradation and the bioinorganic and bioorganic chemistry of the metalloenzymes that catalyse it, this work aims to develop strategies to block this activity. This will turn a key strength of these bacteria into a potent weakness and will generate the proof of principle and knowledge required for the future development of effective strategies to combat pathogenic bacteria.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560657
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$740,000.00
Summary
Ultra-High Resolution NMR Imaging System for Nanotechnology including Nanobiotechnology. The ultra-high resolution imaging NMR spectrometer at the centre of this application is a generation ahead of comparable facilities in Australia and will extend the research capacity of numerous research groups comprising in excess of 50 academics and postgraduate students. The aims and significance of this infrastructure lie in it being one of the centrepieces of the partner institutions' aspirations to tak ....Ultra-High Resolution NMR Imaging System for Nanotechnology including Nanobiotechnology. The ultra-high resolution imaging NMR spectrometer at the centre of this application is a generation ahead of comparable facilities in Australia and will extend the research capacity of numerous research groups comprising in excess of 50 academics and postgraduate students. The aims and significance of this infrastructure lie in it being one of the centrepieces of the partner institutions' aspirations to take Australia to the cutting edge of nanotechnology and cognate disciplines many of which are areas of national priority. The expected manifold outcomes include research of the highest rank into fundamental problems of drug development through to applied outcomes such as new nanomaterials and improved horticulture/fruit preservation.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0346515
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$507,000.00
Summary
Fluorescence Detector for the Australian National Beamline Facility. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an extremely important synchrotron radiation tool for determining the local structure around an X-ray absorbing atom. This has many applications in the study of materials, minerals, metal complexes, and metalloproteins and can often be used to obtain information that is not available by other techniques, because structural information can be obtained in the solid or solution state and in ....Fluorescence Detector for the Australian National Beamline Facility. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an extremely important synchrotron radiation tool for determining the local structure around an X-ray absorbing atom. This has many applications in the study of materials, minerals, metal complexes, and metalloproteins and can often be used to obtain information that is not available by other techniques, because structural information can be obtained in the solid or solution state and in mixtures. The current proposal is aimed at introducing new technology into the Australian National Beamline Facility that will greatly improve the quality and quantity of experiments that can be performed and extend studies into dilute solutions and protein samples.Read moreRead less
Understanding the mechanism of two important cytochrome P450 catalysed reactions: dehydrogenation and C-C cleavage. Cytochromes P450 are enzymes that play key roles in drug metabolism and biosynthesis. P450s often catalyse hydroxylation but also carry out important transformations such as dehydrogenation or carbon-carbon bond cleavage. Such reactions are pivotal in many biological pathways. This work will elucidate the mechanism of these transformations and the factors that facilitate their occu ....Understanding the mechanism of two important cytochrome P450 catalysed reactions: dehydrogenation and C-C cleavage. Cytochromes P450 are enzymes that play key roles in drug metabolism and biosynthesis. P450s often catalyse hydroxylation but also carry out important transformations such as dehydrogenation or carbon-carbon bond cleavage. Such reactions are pivotal in many biological pathways. This work will elucidate the mechanism of these transformations and the factors that facilitate their occurrence. This will mainly entail the synthesis of small organic mechanistic probes and determining the structure and stereochemistry of the product of enzymic oxidation. Understanding these mechanisms will allow us to predict when such reactions will occur, enabling their utilisation in for example drug design in the avoidance of the formation of toxic metabolites.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100129
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$249,000.00
Summary
Microflow ultra high pressure liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry for chemical exposure monitoring. Microflow ultra high pressure liquid chromatography – high resolution mass spectrometry for chemical exposure monitoring: Identifying new chemicals of interest in environmental or biological samples is the first critical step toward understanding their impact to human and environment. A state-of-the-art microflow ultra high performance liquid chromatography high resolution ma ....Microflow ultra high pressure liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry for chemical exposure monitoring. Microflow ultra high pressure liquid chromatography – high resolution mass spectrometry for chemical exposure monitoring: Identifying new chemicals of interest in environmental or biological samples is the first critical step toward understanding their impact to human and environment. A state-of-the-art microflow ultra high performance liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometer is fundamental to extend our research capabilities to new environmental contaminants and environmental exposure biomarkers, as well as consumption biomarkers of new illicit drugs and their metabolites. This instrument will fill an important gap in our capacity to link health/ecological risk to unknown chemicals and will allow interdisciplinary researchers to advance work in environmental toxicology, chemistry and forensics.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR120200004
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Synchrotron Access Program. The Australian Synchrotron epitomises scientific research excellence in Australian and New Zealand. Its impact spans nearly every research sector. This proposal brings together over 30 Australian universities working together to ensure that world-class peer-reviewed science continues to be performed at the Australian Synchrotron.