Innovative green technology for bio-particle engineering. Approximately 40% of new pharmaceuticals are poorly soluble in bodily fluids. In many cases this leads to poor bioavailability, and consequent undesirable side effects as a result of high compensating dosages and generally poor patient compliance. These issues will be addressed by developing a green technology for the re-engineering of pharmaceuticals with the objective of increasing bioavilability. The research programme falls within th ....Innovative green technology for bio-particle engineering. Approximately 40% of new pharmaceuticals are poorly soluble in bodily fluids. In many cases this leads to poor bioavailability, and consequent undesirable side effects as a result of high compensating dosages and generally poor patient compliance. These issues will be addressed by developing a green technology for the re-engineering of pharmaceuticals with the objective of increasing bioavilability. The research programme falls within the Designated Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$600,000.00
Summary
Analytical and Preparative Enantioselective Chromatography. Enantiomers are forms of the same molecule that are non-superimposable mirror images of one another, like a left hand and a right hand. Because they are so similar they are very difficult to separate. However, they have very different biological properties, such as when used as drugs. One enantiomer may be beneficial while the other has no effect or sometimes is even toxic. Therefore it is important to be able to tell how much of ea ....Analytical and Preparative Enantioselective Chromatography. Enantiomers are forms of the same molecule that are non-superimposable mirror images of one another, like a left hand and a right hand. Because they are so similar they are very difficult to separate. However, they have very different biological properties, such as when used as drugs. One enantiomer may be beneficial while the other has no effect or sometimes is even toxic. Therefore it is important to be able to tell how much of each enantiomer is present in a sample and to be able to separate them. This facility will allow us to do both of these things.Read moreRead less
Lipid and Carbohydrate Based Systems to Target and Deliver Peptide Drug Candidates to Specific Cells. The demand for novel effective, orally available medicines to treat a wide range of diseases (cancer, pain - ageing Australian population) is increasing exponentially. Conjugation of peptide drug or vaccine candidates with lipids and/or sugars represents an important, novel strategy in the drug delivery and targeting field. Increasing the lipophilicity improves absorption through intestinal muco ....Lipid and Carbohydrate Based Systems to Target and Deliver Peptide Drug Candidates to Specific Cells. The demand for novel effective, orally available medicines to treat a wide range of diseases (cancer, pain - ageing Australian population) is increasing exponentially. Conjugation of peptide drug or vaccine candidates with lipids and/or sugars represents an important, novel strategy in the drug delivery and targeting field. Increasing the lipophilicity improves absorption through intestinal mucosal membranes. The carbohydrates increase the compound's aqueous solubility and can utilize active transport systems and can target the site required for its biological function. There is no limit to the areas of medicine and public health that would benefit from this revolutionary new technology.Read moreRead less
Amino Acid and Peptide Radicals in Biochemistry and Synthesis. The aim of this research is to develop a better fundamental understanding of biochemical free radical reactions of peptides and proteins, particularly those involving superoxide radical anion and thiols, and peptide radicals in enzyme-catalysed reactions. Knowledge gained through this work will be used in the synthesis of physiologically active amino acids and peptides, as well as to establish ways to regulate biochemical free radic ....Amino Acid and Peptide Radicals in Biochemistry and Synthesis. The aim of this research is to develop a better fundamental understanding of biochemical free radical reactions of peptides and proteins, particularly those involving superoxide radical anion and thiols, and peptide radicals in enzyme-catalysed reactions. Knowledge gained through this work will be used in the synthesis of physiologically active amino acids and peptides, as well as to establish ways to regulate biochemical free radical processes. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop methods and pharmaceutical compounds to prevent and treat human disorders associated with these reactions, and to underpin commercial exploitation of peptide and protein biomaterials.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of new heterocyclic analogues of isoflavones. Intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, and heart disease. The isoflavones resemble endogenous estradiol in structure, and have been shown to display weak estrogenic activity. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on isoflavones. This collaborative research project deals with the development o ....Synthesis of new heterocyclic analogues of isoflavones. Intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of hormone-dependent cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, and heart disease. The isoflavones resemble endogenous estradiol in structure, and have been shown to display weak estrogenic activity. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on isoflavones. This collaborative research project deals with the development of synthetic methodologies for the preparation of new analogues of isoflavone metabolites as potential drug candidates. The target compounds will be evaluated for possible therapeutic use by the industry partner.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of pyrroloquinoline analogues of isoflavone metabolites. Cancer and heart disease are the two main diseases that affect our society indiscriminately and put enormous drains on healthcare resources. The intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of cancers and heart disease. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on phytoestrogen metabolites. This collaborative research project deals with the development ....Synthesis of pyrroloquinoline analogues of isoflavone metabolites. Cancer and heart disease are the two main diseases that affect our society indiscriminately and put enormous drains on healthcare resources. The intake of high dietary isoflavonoid phytoestrogens has been linked to low prevalence of cancers and heart disease. Novogen Limited is pioneering the development of novel drug candidates based on phytoestrogen metabolites. This collaborative research project deals with the development of synthetic methodologies for the preparation of new analogues of phytoestrogen metabolites as potential drug candidates. The target compounds will be evaluated for possible therapeutic use by the industry partner.Read moreRead less
Nanoporous bioaffinity adsorbents for separations in the pharmaceutical industry. This proposal aims to develop new high performance adsorbents for bioprocess engineering based on templated nanoporous silica materials. This research will lead to significant advances in advanced materials and adsorbent technology, downstream processing for the biotechnology industries, and understanding of highly specific affinity interactions used for difficult bioseparations. It will have important benefits for ....Nanoporous bioaffinity adsorbents for separations in the pharmaceutical industry. This proposal aims to develop new high performance adsorbents for bioprocess engineering based on templated nanoporous silica materials. This research will lead to significant advances in advanced materials and adsorbent technology, downstream processing for the biotechnology industries, and understanding of highly specific affinity interactions used for difficult bioseparations. It will have important benefits for processes involving protein purification, such as bioplasma processing, as well as flow on effects to other applications of adsorbent technology such as food processing and water treatment. The new adsorbents will lead to reductions in the costs, energy usage and waste generation of Australian industries.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of Novel Biomaterials for Drug delivery. A new UV radiation polymerisation technique utilising charge-transfer complexes is adopted for synthesising novel hydrogels, a group of biomaterials for drug delivery. This work is significant as charge-transfer complexes, pertinent to the formation of hydrogels, form copolymers within the hydrogel matrices. This eliminates using costly, yet undesirable photo-initiators (PI), thus rendering the hydrogels as cleaner (PI-free) and more economical ....Synthesis of Novel Biomaterials for Drug delivery. A new UV radiation polymerisation technique utilising charge-transfer complexes is adopted for synthesising novel hydrogels, a group of biomaterials for drug delivery. This work is significant as charge-transfer complexes, pertinent to the formation of hydrogels, form copolymers within the hydrogel matrices. This eliminates using costly, yet undesirable photo-initiators (PI), thus rendering the hydrogels as cleaner (PI-free) and more economical in production; the products present themselves as ideal treatment methods in the controlled-release of drugs, specifically targeting localised pathological sites of interest. The research findings will be invaluable to medical practices, leading to the creation of new industries in Australia.
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Designed Delivery - Novel Hydrogels for Drug Delivery from Precisely-Structured Networks. This project will lead to the development of new biodegradable biomaterials ideally suited to many applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. The understanding of their properties will be built on comprehensive models for diffusion of molecules through the material. The availability of these new biomaterials will facilitate future developments in drug delivery, and will ultimately lead to improve ....Designed Delivery - Novel Hydrogels for Drug Delivery from Precisely-Structured Networks. This project will lead to the development of new biodegradable biomaterials ideally suited to many applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. The understanding of their properties will be built on comprehensive models for diffusion of molecules through the material. The availability of these new biomaterials will facilitate future developments in drug delivery, and will ultimately lead to improved medical outcomes in many areas such as tissue and bone regeneration. The materials designed in this project will help position the Australian biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries to take advantage of the more than $100B USD market (US alone; growth ~ 10% p.a.) in drug delivery.Read moreRead less
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