Pro-Fluorescent Aryl Nitroxides: New Probes for Polymer Lifetime and Kinetics Research. Internal aryl rings present in novel probes developed for this project impart fluorescence which is efficiently and internally quenched by the presence of a paramagnetic nitroxide group. Scavenging of radicals by the nitroxide however "switches on" the fluorescence and this enables powerful new fluorescence-based detection levels for the technique of nitroxide free radical scavenging. Such sensitivity is a ....Pro-Fluorescent Aryl Nitroxides: New Probes for Polymer Lifetime and Kinetics Research. Internal aryl rings present in novel probes developed for this project impart fluorescence which is efficiently and internally quenched by the presence of a paramagnetic nitroxide group. Scavenging of radicals by the nitroxide however "switches on" the fluorescence and this enables powerful new fluorescence-based detection levels for the technique of nitroxide free radical scavenging. Such sensitivity is applicable to polymerization kinetics studies, as well as providing new means for the determination of materials lifetimes. The development of pro-fluorescent markers as indicators for polymer degradation would be a significant outcome for materials where component failure has a major negative impact.Read moreRead less
Engineered Polymer Nanoparticles: A Potent Weapon Against Cancer. Cervical cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in women under the age of 50 worldwide, the 8th most common cancer among women in Australia, and is the leading cause of cancer death in Aboriginal women. While a vaccine is available to prevent HPV-mediated disease, it would not impact upon death rates for at least 25 years. The systemic delivery of RNAi offers to best opportunity to solve this problem. The delivery devices w ....Engineered Polymer Nanoparticles: A Potent Weapon Against Cancer. Cervical cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in women under the age of 50 worldwide, the 8th most common cancer among women in Australia, and is the leading cause of cancer death in Aboriginal women. While a vaccine is available to prevent HPV-mediated disease, it would not impact upon death rates for at least 25 years. The systemic delivery of RNAi offers to best opportunity to solve this problem. The delivery devices will be designed with precision and function to meet the delivery needs in vivo. These polymer structures will be suitable for use in drug and gene delivery providing Australian products with advanced features and capabilities, significantly improving product performance.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
Synthesis of nanocomposite polymers with targeted properties. This project aims to synthesise novel nanocomposite polymers by living radical polymerisation in water and to understand the way polymer microstructure and nanomorphology control material properties. This will provide the enabling science so that nanomaterials with targeted properties can be tailor-made for biomedical and speciality-coatings applications, and thus dispense with the current trial-and-error methodology. The innovations ....Synthesis of nanocomposite polymers with targeted properties. This project aims to synthesise novel nanocomposite polymers by living radical polymerisation in water and to understand the way polymer microstructure and nanomorphology control material properties. This will provide the enabling science so that nanomaterials with targeted properties can be tailor-made for biomedical and speciality-coatings applications, and thus dispense with the current trial-and-error methodology. The innovations in this project are the novel synthesis of complex polymer architectures in water, and the first quantitative and qualitative structure-property correlations for such materials. This will also result in a deepened understanding of the mechanisms governing the formation of these nanocomposites.Read moreRead less
Next generation polymer nanostructures. The project will significantly advance the knowledge base of polymer science and related fields through the preparation of previously unavailable novel and well-defined nanostructures. These structures will be suitable for use in drug and gene delivery and high strength coatings providing Australian products with advanced features and capabilities, significantly improving product performance. A direct application of this project will be to develop the stru ....Next generation polymer nanostructures. The project will significantly advance the knowledge base of polymer science and related fields through the preparation of previously unavailable novel and well-defined nanostructures. These structures will be suitable for use in drug and gene delivery and high strength coatings providing Australian products with advanced features and capabilities, significantly improving product performance. A direct application of this project will be to develop the structures for use within a synthetic GAS vaccine. The knowledge obtained through this application will advance the development of synthetic vaccines by providing an understanding of how these structures function in the body. Read moreRead less
Designer Nanoreactors: An Environmentally Friendly Solution for Polymer Synthesis. The advanced materials made from the designer nanoreactors developed in this project will be high value-added products made from cheap materials with much greater design capacity for a wide range of applications. The knowledge gained from this project will have potential applications in many areas where polymer materials are used, including high strength coatings, conducting coatings for the electronic industry, ....Designer Nanoreactors: An Environmentally Friendly Solution for Polymer Synthesis. The advanced materials made from the designer nanoreactors developed in this project will be high value-added products made from cheap materials with much greater design capacity for a wide range of applications. The knowledge gained from this project will have potential applications in many areas where polymer materials are used, including high strength coatings, conducting coatings for the electronic industry, degradable drug and vaccine nanodelivery devices, tissue scaffolds, and gene delivery. These polymers will provide Australian Industry with advanced features and capabilities, significantly improving product performance.Read moreRead less
Transformer 3D Nanostructures: Stimuli Responsive Polymers. This research program will develop smart nanostructures that will be capable of producing high value added products using cheap polymer materials but achieving a much greater design capacity for end-use functions. The knowledge gained from this project will have potential applications in many areas where nanomaterials and polymers are used, including high strength coatings, conducting coatings for the electronic industry, drug and vacci ....Transformer 3D Nanostructures: Stimuli Responsive Polymers. This research program will develop smart nanostructures that will be capable of producing high value added products using cheap polymer materials but achieving a much greater design capacity for end-use functions. The knowledge gained from this project will have potential applications in many areas where nanomaterials and polymers are used, including high strength coatings, conducting coatings for the electronic industry, drug and vaccine delivery devices, tissue scaffolds, nanosensors, and gene delivery. These polymer techniques will enable Australian Industry to significantly improve product performance by providing advanced features and capabilities previously unavailable.Read moreRead less
Photochemical Design of Microstructured Aerospace Materials. Commercial aviation and shipping spend over US$300 billion on fuel and emit almost 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually at an enormous environmental cost. This project will provide the material chemistry innovation basis for the production of drag reduction surfaces that can be applied to enable a more effective airflow over an aircraft, thus reducing fuel consumption. Critically, the material design approach will not only deliv ....Photochemical Design of Microstructured Aerospace Materials. Commercial aviation and shipping spend over US$300 billion on fuel and emit almost 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually at an enormous environmental cost. This project will provide the material chemistry innovation basis for the production of drag reduction surfaces that can be applied to enable a more effective airflow over an aircraft, thus reducing fuel consumption. Critically, the material design approach will not only deliver a high performance coating for the production of drag reduction surfaces, but allow these surfaces to be tailored to specific application profiles including UV resistance and anti-fouling properties. The project will place an Australian company at the forefront of drag reduction technologyRead moreRead less
Precision-built dynamic and functional polymer vesicles. The project aims to create new precision-built polymer vesicles with controlled size, stability, functionality and environmental responsiveness to mimic some of the key dynamic functions of the cell. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the dynamic interplay between the polymer and its bilayer including on-demand activated polymerisations and reactions, logic gates and in situ sensors. Expected outcomes of this project include ....Precision-built dynamic and functional polymer vesicles. The project aims to create new precision-built polymer vesicles with controlled size, stability, functionality and environmental responsiveness to mimic some of the key dynamic functions of the cell. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the dynamic interplay between the polymer and its bilayer including on-demand activated polymerisations and reactions, logic gates and in situ sensors. Expected outcomes of this project include new synthetic polymer techniques and new quantitative insights into the role of compartmentalisation on chemical reactions and polymerisations. This project will provide fundamental knowledge on bio/polymer vesicles with great potential to advance the polymer industry in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,098.00
Summary
Programming Polymer Function via Ring-opening Polymerisation of Peptides. The project aims to set the foundation of a class of intelligent polymers, whose structure and function – including catalytic activity and biodegradability – can be readily programmed. In contrast to well-established radical polymerization techniques leading to all-carbon based backbones, the outlined research will develop technologies to incorporate short peptides into the backbones of synthetic polymers. The syntheticall ....Programming Polymer Function via Ring-opening Polymerisation of Peptides. The project aims to set the foundation of a class of intelligent polymers, whose structure and function – including catalytic activity and biodegradability – can be readily programmed. In contrast to well-established radical polymerization techniques leading to all-carbon based backbones, the outlined research will develop technologies to incorporate short peptides into the backbones of synthetic polymers. The synthetically adjustable amino acid sequence of the main chain embedded peptides will translate into the structure and function of the modular polymer. The DECRA will deliver unprecedented access towards tailor-made mechanical properties, catalytic activity and biodegradability of polymeric materials.Read moreRead less