Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560672
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$202,705.00
Summary
Ultrafast laser facility for chemical, biological and physical investigations of advanced materials. Ultrafast laser techniques are becoming indispensable in many diverse scientific disciplines. Within the Australian scientific community, there is a great need for enhanced access to sophisticated ultrafast laser instrumentation. The expansion to the femtosecond laser facility through the addition of state-of-the-art laser devices, will enable novel laser spectroscopy measurements and advanced op ....Ultrafast laser facility for chemical, biological and physical investigations of advanced materials. Ultrafast laser techniques are becoming indispensable in many diverse scientific disciplines. Within the Australian scientific community, there is a great need for enhanced access to sophisticated ultrafast laser instrumentation. The expansion to the femtosecond laser facility through the addition of state-of-the-art laser devices, will enable novel laser spectroscopy measurements and advanced optical microscopy techniques to be applied to investigations of advanced materials and biological systems. Access to such instrumentation is crucial to fields including photoluminescent conductive polymers, nanoparticles, engineered supramolecules for artificial photosynthetic systems, and photoactivated therapy and drug delivery/release technology.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - Coherent X-ray Science. The twenty first century is said to be the century of biology. And there is no doubt that the development of our understanding of biological system is continuing at a massive rate. However as our understanding deepens, we need to draw on the whole range of scientific disciplines to proceed. This Centre draws together a multidisciplinary team of world-leading scientists to address one the key questions in modern biology, the structure of a membra ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Coherent X-ray Science. The twenty first century is said to be the century of biology. And there is no doubt that the development of our understanding of biological system is continuing at a massive rate. However as our understanding deepens, we need to draw on the whole range of scientific disciplines to proceed. This Centre draws together a multidisciplinary team of world-leading scientists to address one the key questions in modern biology, the structure of a membrane protein. We will develop techniques based on the latest developments in theoretical physics & chemistry, imaging, biology and technology - including the new Australian Synchrotron - to create new approaches to structural biology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0221983
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
Interface, Particle and Complex Fluid Characterisation Laboratory. This laboratory will provide a state-of-the-art characterisation facility for complex fluids. This will service the needs of 27 research staff and 38 postgraduate students and involve collaboration between twelve major research groups based at the Universities of Melbourne, Newcastle, Monash, La Trobe and RMIT. The facility will enhance the research activities of the collaborating institutions in key strategic areas. The laborat ....Interface, Particle and Complex Fluid Characterisation Laboratory. This laboratory will provide a state-of-the-art characterisation facility for complex fluids. This will service the needs of 27 research staff and 38 postgraduate students and involve collaboration between twelve major research groups based at the Universities of Melbourne, Newcastle, Monash, La Trobe and RMIT. The facility will enhance the research activities of the collaborating institutions in key strategic areas. The laboratory will also act as a facility for undertaking consulting projects with industry groups by the applicants.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354775
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Australian Synchrotron Sciences Network. A synchrotron light source is a critical piece of infrastructure for a modern technological nation. In 2001, the Victorian government announced that it would contribute $157M towards the establishment of a national synchrotron facility, becoming operational in 2007. The research performed at such a facility is exceedingly diverse, and often the underpinning technology is the only point of contact for users. A vibrant and productive facility requires a tra ....Australian Synchrotron Sciences Network. A synchrotron light source is a critical piece of infrastructure for a modern technological nation. In 2001, the Victorian government announced that it would contribute $157M towards the establishment of a national synchrotron facility, becoming operational in 2007. The research performed at such a facility is exceedingly diverse, and often the underpinning technology is the only point of contact for users. A vibrant and productive facility requires a transparent interface between the scientist and the technology. This Network will set up the communication channels within the user base, and between the users and the facility development program.Read moreRead less
Membrane structure and lipid interactions of the pore-forming toxin Equinatoxin II by NMR. The structure of Equinatoxin II, a pore-forming protein, will be determined in model cell membranes using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The relationship of molecular structure to bioactivity and the nature of the pore-forming mechanism of this toxin will be determined. The results will aid in understanding how toxins lyse cells and could lead to the design of improved antibiotic peptides. Currently the st ....Membrane structure and lipid interactions of the pore-forming toxin Equinatoxin II by NMR. The structure of Equinatoxin II, a pore-forming protein, will be determined in model cell membranes using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The relationship of molecular structure to bioactivity and the nature of the pore-forming mechanism of this toxin will be determined. The results will aid in understanding how toxins lyse cells and could lead to the design of improved antibiotic peptides. Currently the structure of membrane proteins are difficult to determine and the newly developed techniques used for the structural determination of this membrane-associated protein will be suitable for studying other membrane proteins and receptors of pharmaceutical importance.Read moreRead less
Biodegradable polymeric microparticles for targeted delivery. The use of microparticles with tuneable physicochemical properties and loading characteristics is of interest in the fields of biomaterials, drug delivery and imaging. Such engineered particles are likely to address problems associated with conventional drugs and drug carriers, including poor disease site selectivity, polymer toxicity, non-biodegradability and free diffusion of drugs throughout the body. These microparticles may provi ....Biodegradable polymeric microparticles for targeted delivery. The use of microparticles with tuneable physicochemical properties and loading characteristics is of interest in the fields of biomaterials, drug delivery and imaging. Such engineered particles are likely to address problems associated with conventional drugs and drug carriers, including poor disease site selectivity, polymer toxicity, non-biodegradability and free diffusion of drugs throughout the body. These microparticles may provide direct advantages to society, including minimally invasive and fast in-vivo diagnostics, localised delivery of drugs and therapeutic agents with increased bioavailability, patient acceptability and reduced healthcare costs.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
Thin Films of Oxide Ceramics. Aluminium oxide films are used extensively in the Australian industries of Protective & Decorative Coatings (examples include door-knobs and cutting-tools). The industry will be offered a remarkably simple process for preparation of high quality films. In the microelectronic industry, the uses of aluminium oxide films as a dielectric alternative to silicon dioxide has just started to emerge world - wide and this new process would make a dramatic impact with commerci ....Thin Films of Oxide Ceramics. Aluminium oxide films are used extensively in the Australian industries of Protective & Decorative Coatings (examples include door-knobs and cutting-tools). The industry will be offered a remarkably simple process for preparation of high quality films. In the microelectronic industry, the uses of aluminium oxide films as a dielectric alternative to silicon dioxide has just started to emerge world - wide and this new process would make a dramatic impact with commercial benefits for Australia. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453743
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$237,654.00
Summary
Advanced Materials Laser Characterisation Facility. A networked laser facility spanning the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, and Flinders University, will be created by integrating new laser instrumentation with existing specialised infrastructure. The facility will provide chemists at the four institutions with the necessary equipment to collaboratively investigate and optimise the properties of a diverse array of advanced materials, including nanoparticle ....Advanced Materials Laser Characterisation Facility. A networked laser facility spanning the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, and Flinders University, will be created by integrating new laser instrumentation with existing specialised infrastructure. The facility will provide chemists at the four institutions with the necessary equipment to collaboratively investigate and optimise the properties of a diverse array of advanced materials, including nanoparticles, polymers, biomaterials, and artificial photosynthetic systems. The outcome will be a world-class research network, outfitted with a suite of sophisticated techniques that are not currently available at any single university, or through any other Australian institution or consortium.Read moreRead less
A Method to Characterise an Aberration-Corrected Electron Wave Field - a step towards quantitative electron microscopy. Australia has recently invested in a powerful, new electron microscope, one of the first in the world, which can image features at the atomic scale that could not be seen before. This project will forge a strategic partnership with the designer and the distributor of this microscope, to develop special new methods that will further increase the microscope's imaging power. This ....A Method to Characterise an Aberration-Corrected Electron Wave Field - a step towards quantitative electron microscopy. Australia has recently invested in a powerful, new electron microscope, one of the first in the world, which can image features at the atomic scale that could not be seen before. This project will forge a strategic partnership with the designer and the distributor of this microscope, to develop special new methods that will further increase the microscope's imaging power. This will give Australian scientists unique capabilities with which to investigate and engineer new materials for advanced technological applications and it will train young Australian scientists in these cutting-edge techniques.Read moreRead less