Polymer nanofibres for advanced paint formulations. Surface coatings seal, strengthen, and decorate the majority of surfaces in the building industry—a $72 billion market. Despite their importance, advances in paint science have only been incremental and a truly robust and water resistant paint coating has yet to be developed. Dulux Group Australia and the University of Sydney will use polymer nanofibres as additives to radically redesign architectural coatings, with the goal to drastically incr ....Polymer nanofibres for advanced paint formulations. Surface coatings seal, strengthen, and decorate the majority of surfaces in the building industry—a $72 billion market. Despite their importance, advances in paint science have only been incremental and a truly robust and water resistant paint coating has yet to be developed. Dulux Group Australia and the University of Sydney will use polymer nanofibres as additives to radically redesign architectural coatings, with the goal to drastically increase their durability. The partnership will bring a technological breakthrough that will lead to less disruption for the environment, and important economic and technological benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Advanced Fibre Interfaces in Active Water Management Systems. Flooding is a critical issue in Australia, generating considerable economic losses, including by stormwater contamination. The current project will pioneer an integrated solution for stormwater retention, while removing chemical pollutants. In collaboration with the company ROCKWOOL-Lapinus - based on a stonewool fibre platform - we will (i) design fibre coatings based on a versatile and chemically simple deposition process, (ii) inco ....Advanced Fibre Interfaces in Active Water Management Systems. Flooding is a critical issue in Australia, generating considerable economic losses, including by stormwater contamination. The current project will pioneer an integrated solution for stormwater retention, while removing chemical pollutants. In collaboration with the company ROCKWOOL-Lapinus - based on a stonewool fibre platform - we will (i) design fibre coatings based on a versatile and chemically simple deposition process, (ii) incorporate functionalities onto the fibres allowing active stormwater treatment to e.g. retain pollutants or target heavy metals and (iii) investigate these interfaces in-depth by advanced surface and interface characterisation methods to understand the fibre interface properties from nano- to macroscale.Read moreRead less
Advanced framework materials for hydrogen storage applications. This project aims to develop new molecular materials capable of the highly efficient storage of hydrogen gas. Through an innovative interdisciplinary approach that targets the synthesis and detailed characterisation of two classes of molecular material this project expects to generate step-change advances in the understanding of how hydrogen gas uptake relates to the chemical and physical attributes of porous molecular systems. Sign ....Advanced framework materials for hydrogen storage applications. This project aims to develop new molecular materials capable of the highly efficient storage of hydrogen gas. Through an innovative interdisciplinary approach that targets the synthesis and detailed characterisation of two classes of molecular material this project expects to generate step-change advances in the understanding of how hydrogen gas uptake relates to the chemical and physical attributes of porous molecular systems. Significant anticipated outcomes and benefits include the development of new material design approaches that optimise performance across a diverse parameter space, and the generation of advanced new materials worthy of commercial development, spanning small scale mobile to large scale stationary storage applications.Read moreRead less
Polymer nanodiscs. This project aims to produce disc-shaped polymer nanomaterials by utilising a new self-assembly concept based on oppositely charged polymers. This project expects to generate a modular technology that allows synthesis and control over the geometry and functionality of polymer nanoparticles. This level of control will permit a precise investigation of polymer nanodisc properties for nanomedicine applications. Expected outcomes of this project will be the fundamental understandi ....Polymer nanodiscs. This project aims to produce disc-shaped polymer nanomaterials by utilising a new self-assembly concept based on oppositely charged polymers. This project expects to generate a modular technology that allows synthesis and control over the geometry and functionality of polymer nanoparticles. This level of control will permit a precise investigation of polymer nanodisc properties for nanomedicine applications. Expected outcomes of this project will be the fundamental understanding of how nanoparticle geometry affects particle-cell interaction and how nanoscale polymer discs can be used to mimic biological nanoparticles in shape and function.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
Nanoengineering Smart and Precise Antimicrobial Polymers. Designing the next generation of antimicrobial polymers. This proposal aims to combat the critical global issue of antibiotic resistance via fundamental and innovative chemistry design solutions. The proposed new design will enable the polymers to activate intelligently and precisely in the presence of specific stimuli such as bacterial enzymes for the first time, thereby endowing the polymers with both antimicrobial and biocompatible pro ....Nanoengineering Smart and Precise Antimicrobial Polymers. Designing the next generation of antimicrobial polymers. This proposal aims to combat the critical global issue of antibiotic resistance via fundamental and innovative chemistry design solutions. The proposed new design will enable the polymers to activate intelligently and precisely in the presence of specific stimuli such as bacterial enzymes for the first time, thereby endowing the polymers with both antimicrobial and biocompatible properties. Both properties are crucially needed for successful translation into practical applications. This proposal will lead to new and effective avenues in fighting multidrug-resistant bacteria and will significantly benefit Australia's healthcare and agriculture sectors.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL200100124
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,372,617.00
Summary
Very small nanoparticles made to measure. The administration of therapeutic drugs is often unsuccessful as the drug is quickly cleared from the body. Nanoparticles have been shown to enhance the efficiency of the drug administration, as evidenced by the increasing number of nanoformulations on the market, although commercially available products have currently a range of shortcomings, some of them related to their size. This research program aims to develop a toolset that allows the design of ve ....Very small nanoparticles made to measure. The administration of therapeutic drugs is often unsuccessful as the drug is quickly cleared from the body. Nanoparticles have been shown to enhance the efficiency of the drug administration, as evidenced by the increasing number of nanoformulations on the market, although commercially available products have currently a range of shortcomings, some of them related to their size. This research program aims to develop a toolset that allows the design of very small nanoparticles that display enhanced biological activity. The outcome will be an in-depth understanding of the relationship between polymer structure and properties, which is not only important for nanomedicine, but other areas such as catalysis and sensors. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101102
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,074.00
Summary
Bioinspired hierarchically Intelligent Hydrogels for Soft Machines. This project aims to develop new bioinspired hydrogels capable of performing life-like functions. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced polymers for soft robotics using an interdisciplinary approach, combining chemical design, micro-nano fabrication and additive manufacturing. Expected outcomes of this project include new macromolecular design concepts to achieve intelligent hydrogels with sophisticated fu ....Bioinspired hierarchically Intelligent Hydrogels for Soft Machines. This project aims to develop new bioinspired hydrogels capable of performing life-like functions. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced polymers for soft robotics using an interdisciplinary approach, combining chemical design, micro-nano fabrication and additive manufacturing. Expected outcomes of this project include new macromolecular design concepts to achieve intelligent hydrogels with sophisticated functions enabling the integration of high-performance artificial muscles and soft robotics. This should provide significant benefits in strengthening Australia’s competitiveness in manufacturing soft machines with much safer human-machine interactions and being able to be operated in diverse dynamic environments.Read moreRead less
Chiral synthetic macromolecules - control of sequence and stereochemistry. This project aims to assemble a library of novel chiral polymers mimicking natural peptides with precisely controlled primary structures using emerging synthetic technologies. A systematic investigation of these synthetic materials will provide an in-depth understanding of how sequence and stereochemistry influence chemical and physical properties. Employing rational design principles, desired functionality could be optim ....Chiral synthetic macromolecules - control of sequence and stereochemistry. This project aims to assemble a library of novel chiral polymers mimicking natural peptides with precisely controlled primary structures using emerging synthetic technologies. A systematic investigation of these synthetic materials will provide an in-depth understanding of how sequence and stereochemistry influence chemical and physical properties. Employing rational design principles, desired functionality could be optimised through the selective modification of polymer structure. These materials should be able to emulate the unique properties and functionality of natural peptides/proteins, making them invaluable for biochemical applications, such as molecular recognition and asymmetric catalysis.Read moreRead less
Impact of Biological Coatings on Nanoparticle–Immune Cell Interactions. Nanomaterials exposed to biological environments such as blood or lymph fluids rapidly adsorb a layer of biomolecules on their surface, forming a biomolecular corona, and profoundly altering their properties. This project aims to resolve the influence of biomolecular coronas on nanoparticle–immune cell interactions by combining particle engineering, immunology, proteomics and bioinformatic analysis. The project expected outc ....Impact of Biological Coatings on Nanoparticle–Immune Cell Interactions. Nanomaterials exposed to biological environments such as blood or lymph fluids rapidly adsorb a layer of biomolecules on their surface, forming a biomolecular corona, and profoundly altering their properties. This project aims to resolve the influence of biomolecular coronas on nanoparticle–immune cell interactions by combining particle engineering, immunology, proteomics and bioinformatic analysis. The project expected outcomes are to generate new knowledge in nanomaterial–immune cell behaviour and design principles for nanoparticles with prospective applications in the agricultural, veterinary and biomedical sectors.Read moreRead less