Mixing the jigsaw pieces of natural products: new molecules-new properties. This project aims to examine the capacity of exploiting the bacterial biosynthetic machinery to fast-track access to analogues of natural products. Due to increased drug resistance, new reservoirs of natural products are needed for evaluation as future drugs. Desferrioxamine B will be used as a model natural product to establish the biosynthesis of new analogues in bacterial culture supplemented with unsaturated, fluorin ....Mixing the jigsaw pieces of natural products: new molecules-new properties. This project aims to examine the capacity of exploiting the bacterial biosynthetic machinery to fast-track access to analogues of natural products. Due to increased drug resistance, new reservoirs of natural products are needed for evaluation as future drugs. Desferrioxamine B will be used as a model natural product to establish the biosynthesis of new analogues in bacterial culture supplemented with unsaturated, fluorinated or deuterated building blocks. The intended outcomes are to deliver advances in methods for generating structurally diverse pools of natural products, new label-free probes, knowledge of natural product biosynthesis, and excellence in training research students in frontier methods in chemical biology and drug discovery.Read moreRead less
Metal complexes for sustainable light-driven synthesis. The aim of this project is to use cheap, abundant transition metal ions and visible light to enable challenging synthetic chemical reactions. The significant problems addressed are that most synthetic reactions using visible light currently require expensive precious metals, and fundamental reaction pathways used by Nature remain inaccessible. Both of these problems limit the scope of synthetic applications. The outcomes will be new knowled ....Metal complexes for sustainable light-driven synthesis. The aim of this project is to use cheap, abundant transition metal ions and visible light to enable challenging synthetic chemical reactions. The significant problems addressed are that most synthetic reactions using visible light currently require expensive precious metals, and fundamental reaction pathways used by Nature remain inaccessible. Both of these problems limit the scope of synthetic applications. The outcomes will be new knowledge and sustainable technologies that can better harness visible light for useful synthetic chemistry applications. The benefits will be more efficient and cost-effective routes to valuable molecules ubiquitous in everyday life.Read moreRead less
Smart affinity membranes for manufacture of high value therapeutic proteins. This project aims to develop next generation separation membranes for production of high-value proteins from serum. Through a combination of innovative chemistries, biotechnology and engineering, the project will enhance production, efficiency and resolution of membranes for separating complex mixtures, thereby contributing to broader understanding in membrane science. By establishing a strong collaborative link between ....Smart affinity membranes for manufacture of high value therapeutic proteins. This project aims to develop next generation separation membranes for production of high-value proteins from serum. Through a combination of innovative chemistries, biotechnology and engineering, the project will enhance production, efficiency and resolution of membranes for separating complex mixtures, thereby contributing to broader understanding in membrane science. By establishing a strong collaborative link between academic and industry researchers, this project has the potential to significantly value-add to existing and exciting Australian technology by enhancing the efficiency of plasma fractionation, improving isolation of large molecules from complex media and by improving the downstream manufacturing and bioprocessing pipeline. Read moreRead less
New antiparasitics to protect Australian livestock. There is an urgent need for new antiparasitics to treat multi-drug resistant livestock infections. This project aims to explore the bacteria and fungi present in the microbiomes of heavily infected sheep faeces and pastures, challenging them with environmental cues, including those from associated parasites, to stimulate production of defensive chemicals hidden deep within their genomes. Enabled by an integrated pipeline of high throughput anal ....New antiparasitics to protect Australian livestock. There is an urgent need for new antiparasitics to treat multi-drug resistant livestock infections. This project aims to explore the bacteria and fungi present in the microbiomes of heavily infected sheep faeces and pastures, challenging them with environmental cues, including those from associated parasites, to stimulate production of defensive chemicals hidden deep within their genomes. Enabled by an integrated pipeline of high throughput analytical cultivation, molecular networking, and chemical and biological analyses, expected outcomes include an enhanced ability to explore and exploit valuable chemistry hidden within microbial genomes, leading to the discovery of new classes of natural antiparasitic to safeguard livestock.
Read moreRead less
Cause and effect: new mechanisms of particles formation in thunderstorms. This project aims to identify meaningful and specific indicators for predicting particle formation and alteration during thunderstorms. How thunderstorms develop is well-understood. However, identifying meaningful and specific indicators for predicting particle alteration during a thunderstorm is still not clear. This project will practically contribute to the evidence of the impact of air particulates, thereby having dire ....Cause and effect: new mechanisms of particles formation in thunderstorms. This project aims to identify meaningful and specific indicators for predicting particle formation and alteration during thunderstorms. How thunderstorms develop is well-understood. However, identifying meaningful and specific indicators for predicting particle alteration during a thunderstorm is still not clear. This project will practically contribute to the evidence of the impact of air particulates, thereby having direct implications for meteorological, and air pollution policy in Australia and worldwide. This project will allow researchers to understand the impact of these factors on the escalation of the causative effects, and to find a way to prevent unnecessary fatal outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100677
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Deconstructing molecular self-assembly by advanced mass spectrometry. This project aims to develop ion-mobility mass spectrometry methods to observe the molecular evolution of model self-assembly reactions with high temporal and structural resolution, and interrogate the intrinsic gas phase functionality of the assemblies themselves, including aggregation, inclusion and disassembly behaviours. Lack of knowledge of reaction intermediates, mechanisms and kinetics hampers the industrial potential o ....Deconstructing molecular self-assembly by advanced mass spectrometry. This project aims to develop ion-mobility mass spectrometry methods to observe the molecular evolution of model self-assembly reactions with high temporal and structural resolution, and interrogate the intrinsic gas phase functionality of the assemblies themselves, including aggregation, inclusion and disassembly behaviours. Lack of knowledge of reaction intermediates, mechanisms and kinetics hampers the industrial potential of self-assembly to fabricate highly functional materials. This project expects to determine the critical link between the assemblies’ structure and function, and provide the rational framework to optimise and direct synthetic outcomes. This could enable Australian manufacturers to create low-energy production processes of high value commodities.Read moreRead less
Emergent Behaviours in Spin Crossover Materials. This project aims to develop new molecular materials in which the incorporation of electronic switching leads to the emergence of fundamentally new chemical and physical phenomena. Through an innovative interdisciplinary approach that targets interesting new forms of interplay at the nanoscale this project expects to generate step-change advances in the understanding of spin-switching materials. Significant anticipated outcomes and benefits includ ....Emergent Behaviours in Spin Crossover Materials. This project aims to develop new molecular materials in which the incorporation of electronic switching leads to the emergence of fundamentally new chemical and physical phenomena. Through an innovative interdisciplinary approach that targets interesting new forms of interplay at the nanoscale this project expects to generate step-change advances in the understanding of spin-switching materials. Significant anticipated outcomes and benefits include identification and development of several new classes of materials function, each of major fundamental interest, and to the generation of advanced new materials worthy of commercial development in electronic device, actuator, sensor and gas separations technologies.Read moreRead less
Elemental release and oxidant production from mixed coal mine dusts. The aim of this project is to understand the implications of physical and chemical characteristics of mixed coal mine dusts to their elemental release and oxidant production. The re-emergence of occupational lung diseases in recent years has revealed a major knowledge gap in the area of respirable particle reactivity. This research will examine the role between coal mine dust and their capacity to produce reactive oxygen specie ....Elemental release and oxidant production from mixed coal mine dusts. The aim of this project is to understand the implications of physical and chemical characteristics of mixed coal mine dusts to their elemental release and oxidant production. The re-emergence of occupational lung diseases in recent years has revealed a major knowledge gap in the area of respirable particle reactivity. This research will examine the role between coal mine dust and their capacity to produce reactive oxygen species, with the focus being on the role of physical and chemical properties of particles and how they transform with age. The findings will be used to develop screening protocols and develop novel monitoring / mitigation strategies for coal mine workers.Read moreRead less