Development of Novel Detergents for Green Solvent Systems and Their Self-Assembly into Nanostructures. Successful outcomes from this collaborative project will lead to the development of new commercially viable green solvent systems for the chemical industry, e.g. dry cleaning. This has the potential to impact the community on the economic and environmental level, by significantly reducing the costs of current green solvent systems, resulting in greater likelihood of conventional toxic solvent ....Development of Novel Detergents for Green Solvent Systems and Their Self-Assembly into Nanostructures. Successful outcomes from this collaborative project will lead to the development of new commercially viable green solvent systems for the chemical industry, e.g. dry cleaning. This has the potential to impact the community on the economic and environmental level, by significantly reducing the costs of current green solvent systems, resulting in greater likelihood of conventional toxic solvents being replaced. The project will also expand the training of junior and early career scientists by allowing them to work in overseas laboratories.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453637
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$256,804.00
Summary
Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable dat ....Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable data for a set of projects exploring questions ranging from how new synthetic materials with tailor-made properties can be created, through to how our understanding of natural polymers can be advanced to improve crop utilization.Read moreRead less
Synthesis and Characterisation of Encoded Hybrid Polymer/Gold Nanoparticles for Application in Bioassays. Bioassays are the cornerstone of in vitro diagnostic and biomedical research. This proposal will significantly contribute to these areas, by targeting an emerging technology that is crucial for their future development. The hybrid nanoparticles described in this project have the potential to replace conventional detection strategies that are currently used for bioassays. In doing so, they sh ....Synthesis and Characterisation of Encoded Hybrid Polymer/Gold Nanoparticles for Application in Bioassays. Bioassays are the cornerstone of in vitro diagnostic and biomedical research. This proposal will significantly contribute to these areas, by targeting an emerging technology that is crucial for their future development. The hybrid nanoparticles described in this project have the potential to replace conventional detection strategies that are currently used for bioassays. In doing so, they should provide significant advantages over conventional detection strategies. These advantages include increased sample throughput and conservation of biological samples, which makes possible the acceleration of patient diagnosis and drug discovery. Read moreRead less
Graft copolymers from starch and synthetic monomers. Polymer dispersions, manufactured as latexes in large quantities in Australia and elsewhere, have myriad applications, such as in adhesives, bitumen modifiers, paints and paper coatings. This project will create the enabling science to replace by starch the current synthetic products used to stop these dispersions from coagulating. This will create new uses for renewable resources and will reduce environmental insult by avoiding the leaching o ....Graft copolymers from starch and synthetic monomers. Polymer dispersions, manufactured as latexes in large quantities in Australia and elsewhere, have myriad applications, such as in adhesives, bitumen modifiers, paints and paper coatings. This project will create the enabling science to replace by starch the current synthetic products used to stop these dispersions from coagulating. This will create new uses for renewable resources and will reduce environmental insult by avoiding the leaching of biologically incompatible chemicals. By using starch from crops suited for Australia's arid climate, the new technology will reduce both our dependence on imported products and our greenhouse gas emissions.Read moreRead less
Self organization in (bio)molecular systems: Simulating the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins and lipids. Molecular self-assembly is a basic property of living systems. Most proteins fold spontaneously and then further self-organize into functional complexes, effectively biological machines. Understanding how this occurs is a fundamental theoretical challenge with widespread application. Work will focus on developing methodology to simulate, computationally, the folding and aggrega ....Self organization in (bio)molecular systems: Simulating the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins and lipids. Molecular self-assembly is a basic property of living systems. Most proteins fold spontaneously and then further self-organize into functional complexes, effectively biological machines. Understanding how this occurs is a fundamental theoretical challenge with widespread application. Work will focus on developing methodology to simulate, computationally, the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins, and lipids. The aim is to accurately predict the structures of small peptides in solution and to refine crude models of larger molecules (complexes). This will facilitate the development of peptide based therapeutics and is essential in exploiting the growing volume of genetic information in biology and medicine.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668521
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Small Angle Scattering Facility for the Materials and Biological Sciences. There are many benefits to the community from the application of modern technology for materials and protein characterisation, particularly one that is as broadly applicable as small angle scattering. For example, it can directly aid in the development of new materials for energy storage and generation, biomaterials for improved health and the process of design of drugs for many types of disease. This facility will ben ....Small Angle Scattering Facility for the Materials and Biological Sciences. There are many benefits to the community from the application of modern technology for materials and protein characterisation, particularly one that is as broadly applicable as small angle scattering. For example, it can directly aid in the development of new materials for energy storage and generation, biomaterials for improved health and the process of design of drugs for many types of disease. This facility will benefit a large number of researchers and significantly enhance the outcomes of recent investments in high quality pure and applied research.Read moreRead less
Covalent Hydrogen Bond Mimetics of Helical Peptide Hormones. Peptide hormones have been identified that adopt a helical shape when bound to their receptor. The project will produce new versions of these hormones by the use of directly bonded chemical linkers in place of the relatively weak helix hydrogen bonds. The resulting hormone mimics will be more stable, have lower molecular weight and be more selective than the natural hormones making them more suitable as drugs. Our new chemical techn ....Covalent Hydrogen Bond Mimetics of Helical Peptide Hormones. Peptide hormones have been identified that adopt a helical shape when bound to their receptor. The project will produce new versions of these hormones by the use of directly bonded chemical linkers in place of the relatively weak helix hydrogen bonds. The resulting hormone mimics will be more stable, have lower molecular weight and be more selective than the natural hormones making them more suitable as drugs. Our new chemical techniques allow us for the first time to fully investigate this approach which if successful will be applicable to many other helical peptides and therefore could be an important drug development technique.Read moreRead less
High throughput engineering of genetically encodable fluorescent sensors of intracellular signalling networks. Understanding of biochemical processes in living organisms is central to biological research and drug discovery. At present, the field suffers from a chronic paucity of adequate observation methods. The proposed project represents an interdisciplinary effort to create approaches for real-time monitoring of complex cellular chemistries. This work will deliver novel technologies for use i ....High throughput engineering of genetically encodable fluorescent sensors of intracellular signalling networks. Understanding of biochemical processes in living organisms is central to biological research and drug discovery. At present, the field suffers from a chronic paucity of adequate observation methods. The proposed project represents an interdisciplinary effort to create approaches for real-time monitoring of complex cellular chemistries. This work will deliver novel technologies for use in diagnostics and drug development. It will provide vital information on the changes in cellular processes induced by malignant transformation, viral infection and aging. This work will generate both health and economic benefits for the community and have a positive impact on the international visibility of Australian biomedical research.Read moreRead less
A new G-protein coupled receptor target for conotoxins. We aim to understand the interaction between venom components from the marine cone snail, a major source of potential drug leads, and a key receptor in nerve cell signalling. This receptor plays a role in many nervous system functions and has been proposed as a target for treating a range of diseases including pain, depression and drug addiction. It is critical that we understand this interaction so we can fully exploit the potential of the ....A new G-protein coupled receptor target for conotoxins. We aim to understand the interaction between venom components from the marine cone snail, a major source of potential drug leads, and a key receptor in nerve cell signalling. This receptor plays a role in many nervous system functions and has been proposed as a target for treating a range of diseases including pain, depression and drug addiction. It is critical that we understand this interaction so we can fully exploit the potential of these molecules as drug leads. The potential exists for multibillion dollar markets for these new drugs that could provide significant economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Common hot spots in protein-activated GPCRs enable discovery of new ligands for mapping of G-protein signalling pathways. This project will teach researchers and industry how to more rapidly discover new compounds for development into medicines, and how to design them with reduced side effects. This interdisciplinary research will provide excellent training for scientists in chemistry, pharmacology, biochemistry and biotechnology. It will advance fundamental science at the chemistry-biology inte ....Common hot spots in protein-activated GPCRs enable discovery of new ligands for mapping of G-protein signalling pathways. This project will teach researchers and industry how to more rapidly discover new compounds for development into medicines, and how to design them with reduced side effects. This interdisciplinary research will provide excellent training for scientists in chemistry, pharmacology, biochemistry and biotechnology. It will advance fundamental science at the chemistry-biology interface, attract international interest from researchers, students, and companies, with potential for translational and commercial outcomes. New drug leads and information on how important drug targets communicate with different intracellular signalling pathways has potential to impact on National Research Priorities of good health and building Australian industry.Read moreRead less