Powder blending for dry powder inhalers: a new approach for direct control of powder structure. Over 80 per cent of pharmaceutical products involve the processing of powders. This project will generate new knowledge of how to assemble fine and cohesive particles into the structure required for dry powder inhaler products, leading to the development of new low-cost medicines in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
The Development of New Carrier Technologies for Spray-Dried Fruit Extracts. This project aims to develop new carrier techniques for spray drying fruit extracts based on the use of natural fibres, with the aim of overcoming a key problem in the operation of spray dryers for producing powders, the deposition of particles on walls. Carriers are non-sticky materials that effectively dilute the stickiness of any materials. The significance is that it will use waste products from fruit processing (th ....The Development of New Carrier Technologies for Spray-Dried Fruit Extracts. This project aims to develop new carrier techniques for spray drying fruit extracts based on the use of natural fibres, with the aim of overcoming a key problem in the operation of spray dryers for producing powders, the deposition of particles on walls. Carriers are non-sticky materials that effectively dilute the stickiness of any materials. The significance is that it will use waste products from fruit processing (the fibres from skins) to overcome this problem, and it will also be possible to dry sticky materials using material from the fruit itself, rather than additives such as maltodextrin.Read moreRead less
A skin-on-a-chip device for investigating wound healing. This project aims to research the mechanism of skin wound healing. It will design a skin-on-a-chip microfluidic device that mimics human skin in vitro. This device will reduce the need for animal studies and assess how active compounds heal wounds. This project will design smart polymers with superior properties for controlled delivery of multiple active compounds in this device and choose the most effective combination of compounds to boo ....A skin-on-a-chip device for investigating wound healing. This project aims to research the mechanism of skin wound healing. It will design a skin-on-a-chip microfluidic device that mimics human skin in vitro. This device will reduce the need for animal studies and assess how active compounds heal wounds. This project will design smart polymers with superior properties for controlled delivery of multiple active compounds in this device and choose the most effective combination of compounds to boost skin healing rate. This knowledge may ultimately be used to develop wound dressings that maximise healing rate for various skin defects such as chronic wounds and decrease health care costs.Read moreRead less
Perfect particles: Accurate breakage predictions by 3D printing of granules. Granule breakage of micro-structured specialty products impedes manufacturing and degrades product performance. Predictive breakage models have had limited success as each granule has a unique structure. Differences between the model predictions and experimental breakage test results could be due to inaccurate models or irreproducible experimental results due to granule structure differences. This project is expected to ....Perfect particles: Accurate breakage predictions by 3D printing of granules. Granule breakage of micro-structured specialty products impedes manufacturing and degrades product performance. Predictive breakage models have had limited success as each granule has a unique structure. Differences between the model predictions and experimental breakage test results could be due to inaccurate models or irreproducible experimental results due to granule structure differences. This project is expected to be the first ever application of three-dimensional printing for reproducible breakage testing. The project aims to: create the first ever multiple identical copies of complex granules using polyjet three-dimensional printing; model and experimentally measure granule breakage; and develop sophisticated Digital Elevation Models of granule breakage for practical use in industry.Read moreRead less
Epitaxial Stacking of Nanoporous Nanosheets for Next-generation Membranes. The project aims to develop high-precision selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for solute-solute separation by constructing vertically-aligned and chemically-tailorable nanochannels using two-dimensional porous nanosheets as building blocks. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge in the areas of nanosheet synthesis and functionalisation, membrane design and fabrication, s ....Epitaxial Stacking of Nanoporous Nanosheets for Next-generation Membranes. The project aims to develop high-precision selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for solute-solute separation by constructing vertically-aligned and chemically-tailorable nanochannels using two-dimensional porous nanosheets as building blocks. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge in the areas of nanosheet synthesis and functionalisation, membrane design and fabrication, selective transport of solutes and applications. The membranes developed in the project should make existing separation processes more effective and sustainable and advance emerging applications in pharmaceutical, dairy and mining industries, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Discrete particle simulation of powder dispersion in pharmaceutical aerosol inhalers. A successful completion of the project will i) greatly enhance the Australian R&D profile and capabilities of both computational modelling and pharmaceutical aerosol research in the world; ii) provide an improved delivery of therapeutic dose to patients via inhalers with better performance to enhance the therapeutic benefits; iii) enable wide availability of inexpensive and effective pharmaceutical inhalation p ....Discrete particle simulation of powder dispersion in pharmaceutical aerosol inhalers. A successful completion of the project will i) greatly enhance the Australian R&D profile and capabilities of both computational modelling and pharmaceutical aerosol research in the world; ii) provide an improved delivery of therapeutic dose to patients via inhalers with better performance to enhance the therapeutic benefits; iii) enable wide availability of inexpensive and effective pharmaceutical inhalation products to the Australian community for the treatment of asthma and other diseases, iv) facilitate environmentally friendly technology since powder aerosol delivery does not require any harmful organic solvents to operate.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of nanoparticles by impinging liquid-jet precipitation for inhalation drug delivery. The project aim is to develop a state of the art technology for the efficient, reliable and economical production of nanoparticles of drugs suitable for inhalation delivery to the lung. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. The project will focus on both the production process and the particle properties for aerosol a ....Synthesis of nanoparticles by impinging liquid-jet precipitation for inhalation drug delivery. The project aim is to develop a state of the art technology for the efficient, reliable and economical production of nanoparticles of drugs suitable for inhalation delivery to the lung. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. The project will focus on both the production process and the particle properties for aerosol administration. Successful development of the technology will not only gain new knowledge in the key area of nanotechnology, but also lead to better inhalation therapy to benefit patients.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel process for the formation of particles with controlled surface architecture for respiratory drug delivery. A successful conclusion of this project will enhance substantially the competitiveness of Australia's research in functional nanomaterials and advanced biomaterials. The Australian pharmaceutical industry will gain through the ability to develop proprietary pharmaceutical formulations targeted towards taking advantage of the novel process. Patients of asthma, lung inf ....Development of a novel process for the formation of particles with controlled surface architecture for respiratory drug delivery. A successful conclusion of this project will enhance substantially the competitiveness of Australia's research in functional nanomaterials and advanced biomaterials. The Australian pharmaceutical industry will gain through the ability to develop proprietary pharmaceutical formulations targeted towards taking advantage of the novel process. Patients of asthma, lung infection and other serious health problems will benefit from an improved delivery of therapeutic dose at a much reduced cost. The technology is environmentally friendly as powder aerosol delivery does not require any harmful organic solvent to operate.Read moreRead less
High Gravity Precipitation of Nanoparticles for Pulmonary Drug Delivery. This collaborative project aims to explore the huge market potential of drug delivery by inhalation aerosols using nanoparticles. It will apply cutting edge nanotechnology to develop new techniques using high gravity to synthesise particles of biomaterials suitable for inhalation. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. Successful developme ....High Gravity Precipitation of Nanoparticles for Pulmonary Drug Delivery. This collaborative project aims to explore the huge market potential of drug delivery by inhalation aerosols using nanoparticles. It will apply cutting edge nanotechnology to develop new techniques using high gravity to synthesise particles of biomaterials suitable for inhalation. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. Successful development of the technology will position both Australia and the industry partner to take a lead in the application of this novel technology in pharmaceutical aerosols, and provides better inhalation therapy to benefit patients.Read moreRead less
Engineered nanoporous materials and composites having hierarchical structures by emulsion templating. The project aims to develop new and flexible emulsion-templated processes capable of constructing novel nanoporous materials with hierarchical structures. The project has the potential to revolutionise current approaches for making porous materials, and the outcomes will enhance Australia's ability in frontier technologies and advanced materials.