Elucidating the Mode of Action of Nicotinic Receptor Ligands. Changes in brain function can cause human diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. To develop new medicines to treat these conditions we need to study how drugs act in the brain. This project will use new methods of chemistry to make drugs, which will then be tested for biological activity at important brain receptors. This will tell us which compounds are most effective as potential drugs and also exactly whe ....Elucidating the Mode of Action of Nicotinic Receptor Ligands. Changes in brain function can cause human diseases such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. To develop new medicines to treat these conditions we need to study how drugs act in the brain. This project will use new methods of chemistry to make drugs, which will then be tested for biological activity at important brain receptors. This will tell us which compounds are most effective as potential drugs and also exactly where they act in the brain. Read moreRead less
Development of Pyrrolopyrimidines as Inhibitors of ATP-Binding Proteins. This project seeks to generate analogues of natural products that have been found to be active against cancer cells and tropical parasites. The new materials produced by this project will aid in the study of biochemical processes involved in diseases such as cancer and lymphatic filariasis, thus leading the way to development of these compounds as potential treatments for such diseases.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0236167
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$580,000.00
Summary
The Sydney Combinatorial Research Facility. The proposal is to establish a multidisciplinary inter-institutional research facility for solution-phase combinatorial chemistry synthesis and analysis, and medium to high throughput biological evaluation of lead compounds through fluorescence detection methods. This will be the first and only multi-user facility of its type in Sydney. It will provide through its synthetic node at NSW and Macquarie Universities and biological screening node at Univers ....The Sydney Combinatorial Research Facility. The proposal is to establish a multidisciplinary inter-institutional research facility for solution-phase combinatorial chemistry synthesis and analysis, and medium to high throughput biological evaluation of lead compounds through fluorescence detection methods. This will be the first and only multi-user facility of its type in Sydney. It will provide through its synthetic node at NSW and Macquarie Universities and biological screening node at University of Sydney an essential resource that will enable modern combinatorial techniques to be applied to chemical and drug-lead development studies in the region.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0238898
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$352,000.00
Summary
Novel Optical Microprobes - fluorescence excitation, lifetime and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopies. State-of-the-art technologies in microscopy will be combined with the versatility and diagnostic power of spectroscopy for the analysis and identification of materials by methods sensitive to chemical structure as well as spatial inhomogeneity. The proposed systems will operate within an existing multi-user optical characterisation facility at Macquarie University thus supporting the research ....Novel Optical Microprobes - fluorescence excitation, lifetime and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopies. State-of-the-art technologies in microscopy will be combined with the versatility and diagnostic power of spectroscopy for the analysis and identification of materials by methods sensitive to chemical structure as well as spatial inhomogeneity. The proposed systems will operate within an existing multi-user optical characterisation facility at Macquarie University thus supporting the research of an established and expanding network of researchers in the Sydney area and in Melbourne. The suite of instruments will provide new and exciting avenues for interdisciplinary research between the physical and biological sciencesRead moreRead less
High Pressure and Fluorous Approaches to Fostriecin Libraries: New Therapeutic Opportunities. The natural product, Fostriecin, displays considerable broad-spectrum anti-cancer activity, acting via a novel mechanism. However, this activity is tempered by its considerable instability, being too unstable to be used as a therapeutic agent. Using state-of-the-art approaches we will, rapidly generate libraries of more stable and biologically active fostriecin analogues and examine their potential to b ....High Pressure and Fluorous Approaches to Fostriecin Libraries: New Therapeutic Opportunities. The natural product, Fostriecin, displays considerable broad-spectrum anti-cancer activity, acting via a novel mechanism. However, this activity is tempered by its considerable instability, being too unstable to be used as a therapeutic agent. Using state-of-the-art approaches we will, rapidly generate libraries of more stable and biologically active fostriecin analogues and examine their potential to be used anti-cancer agents. This project represents an opportunity for Australia to take a significant, innovative lead in the development of hitherto unforseen therapeutic agents.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668439
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$730,000.00
Summary
Elemental and Structural Analysis Facility Comprising a FTICR Mass Spectrometer and a CHNS Analyser. The determination of molecular structure is important in many fields of chemistry, biochemistry and material science. Without such determinations much chemical research would be viewed as incomplete and rendered unpatentable as well as unpublishable. The two state-of-the-art instruments to be purchased will improve the ability of a wide cross-section of researchers to rapidly characterize compoun ....Elemental and Structural Analysis Facility Comprising a FTICR Mass Spectrometer and a CHNS Analyser. The determination of molecular structure is important in many fields of chemistry, biochemistry and material science. Without such determinations much chemical research would be viewed as incomplete and rendered unpatentable as well as unpublishable. The two state-of-the-art instruments to be purchased will improve the ability of a wide cross-section of researchers to rapidly characterize compounds important in fields as varied as medicinal chemistry, material science and geosciences. All types of chemical research, from fundamental to applied, will benefit from these instruments with clear and positive implications regarding societal impact.Read moreRead less
Fluorous Chemistry: New tagging agents and heterocyclic-based fluorous surfactants. Fluorous chemistry is emerging as a powerful adjunct to areas of conventional parallel and combinatorial organic syntheses, and its introduction has revolutionised separation technologies. In this project two new fluorous tagging strategies will be investigated in an effort to broaden the scope of reagents that can used in synthesis. Efforts will be directed to chiral auxiliaries and to fluorous catalyst ligands. ....Fluorous Chemistry: New tagging agents and heterocyclic-based fluorous surfactants. Fluorous chemistry is emerging as a powerful adjunct to areas of conventional parallel and combinatorial organic syntheses, and its introduction has revolutionised separation technologies. In this project two new fluorous tagging strategies will be investigated in an effort to broaden the scope of reagents that can used in synthesis. Efforts will be directed to chiral auxiliaries and to fluorous catalyst ligands. In addition, a novel class of fluorous surfactant will be investigated, for its surface properties (including its ability to self assemble) and for its utility in two specific applications, selective membrane-bound protein extraction (relevant to proteomics) and ophthalmics (biomaterials).Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,000.00
Summary
Regional Facility for Molecular Characterisation and Mapping. Researchers at the Schools of Chemistry at The Australian National University and University of Wollongong are involved in a range of projects where new molecules are synthesised or discovered in natural products such as rainforest plants and marine organisms. Some of the molecules have already shown promise against diseases such as Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. In order to fully characterise these molecules, two complementa ....Regional Facility for Molecular Characterisation and Mapping. Researchers at the Schools of Chemistry at The Australian National University and University of Wollongong are involved in a range of projects where new molecules are synthesised or discovered in natural products such as rainforest plants and marine organisms. Some of the molecules have already shown promise against diseases such as Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. In order to fully characterise these molecules, two complementary mass spectrometers, replacing ageing instrumentation will be commissioned at each site. In addition, researchers in Wollongong will acquire a MALDI mass spectrometer capable of imaging the distribution of molecules on tissues that may be pathologically important.Read moreRead less
Molecular microscopy: protein and membrane dynamics in resting and activated T cells. The aim of this research, to understand the molecular organization and dynamics of the plasma membrane that underlie the signal transduction events, is at the very heart of understanding cell communication. T cell recognition and activation initiates an adaptive immune response to invading pathogens and structurally altered proteins that can be found in cancers. By providing functional insights into the molecul ....Molecular microscopy: protein and membrane dynamics in resting and activated T cells. The aim of this research, to understand the molecular organization and dynamics of the plasma membrane that underlie the signal transduction events, is at the very heart of understanding cell communication. T cell recognition and activation initiates an adaptive immune response to invading pathogens and structurally altered proteins that can be found in cancers. By providing functional insights into the molecular mechanism of T cell activation, we will not only provide fundamental knowledge of receptor signalling but also specific details of T cell receptort triggering that may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies to control T cell activation.Read moreRead less
Exploring the gene regulation networks governing mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis. Mitochondria, subcellular organelles that perform many functions indispensable to plant growth and productivity, are dynamic compartments whose protein complement changes dramatically during plant development and under stress. Yet, the cellular processes that regulate the production of these organelles are virtually unknown. By combining conventional approaches with an extremely powerful holistic method for ....Exploring the gene regulation networks governing mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis. Mitochondria, subcellular organelles that perform many functions indispensable to plant growth and productivity, are dynamic compartments whose protein complement changes dramatically during plant development and under stress. Yet, the cellular processes that regulate the production of these organelles are virtually unknown. By combining conventional approaches with an extremely powerful holistic method for simultaneously examining the expression patterns of every gene in the model plant Arabidopsis, this project will identify proteins that regulate mitochondrial biosynthesis and uncover the gene networks that these proteins control. The project outcomes will provide new opportunities for the rational manipulation of plant growth and productivity.Read moreRead less