Making Silicon Even More Useful: Functionalising Silicon to Produce Stable Electronic Devices in Aqueous Environments. Silicon is the wonder material of our time, being the foundation upon which our electronics and device industries are based. Silicon however would be even more useful if it could be stabilised so the surface did not oxidise in air and water. If this oxidation could be prevented silicon could be used in a whole range of new devices related to biotechnology, molecular electronics ....Making Silicon Even More Useful: Functionalising Silicon to Produce Stable Electronic Devices in Aqueous Environments. Silicon is the wonder material of our time, being the foundation upon which our electronics and device industries are based. Silicon however would be even more useful if it could be stabilised so the surface did not oxidise in air and water. If this oxidation could be prevented silicon could be used in a whole range of new devices related to biotechnology, molecular electronics and sensing. The project will develop a viable surface chemistry strategy for achieving this stabilisation and hence will greatly expand the scope of devices which can be fabricated from silicon. This will have significant scientific and economic benefits for Australia. We will exploit this new capability for cancer detection, cell engineering and biosensing.Read moreRead less
Liquid light: aqueous bio-sensing in microstructured polymer optical fibres. This project builds on Australia's world-leading position in the development of microstructured polymer optical fibres, and applies the unique benefits they provide to for ultra- sensitive bio-sensing. By using the microstructure to simultaneously confine light and liquid, microstructured optical fibres provide a unique platform for ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and structural studies of biomolecules in solution. The wor ....Liquid light: aqueous bio-sensing in microstructured polymer optical fibres. This project builds on Australia's world-leading position in the development of microstructured polymer optical fibres, and applies the unique benefits they provide to for ultra- sensitive bio-sensing. By using the microstructure to simultaneously confine light and liquid, microstructured optical fibres provide a unique platform for ultra-sensitive spectroscopy and structural studies of biomolecules in solution. The work has profound implications both for fundamental science and applications, particularly in medical diagnostics.Read moreRead less
A Generic Solution for Interfacing Electrodes with Biological Media. Electrodes are the critical element of stimulating implantable devices such as cardiac pacemakers, bionic eyes and cochlear implants, the most commercially successful biosensors, and are emerging as key to new technologies for testing new drug leads using cells. In all these applications of electrodes in biology there has never been a solution to stopping unwanted adsorption of biological material onto the electrode that does ....A Generic Solution for Interfacing Electrodes with Biological Media. Electrodes are the critical element of stimulating implantable devices such as cardiac pacemakers, bionic eyes and cochlear implants, the most commercially successful biosensors, and are emerging as key to new technologies for testing new drug leads using cells. In all these applications of electrodes in biology there has never been a solution to stopping unwanted adsorption of biological material onto the electrode that does not dramatically decrease electrode performance. The proposed research finally provides a solution via surface modification. This strategy will enhance the performance of all the devices above and will open doors to new applications of electrochemistry within biology.Read moreRead less
The Application of Chemical Force Microscopy for Monitoring DNA Hybridization: A New Sensing Concept Capable of Detecting Single Molecules. This proposal outlines a method of monitoring DNA sequences with such high sensitivity that a single molecule may be detected. Such sensitivity is achieved using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure surface forces. Modifying an AFM tip with a single strand of DNA allows the complementary strand (the target) to be recognized via hybridization to form ....The Application of Chemical Force Microscopy for Monitoring DNA Hybridization: A New Sensing Concept Capable of Detecting Single Molecules. This proposal outlines a method of monitoring DNA sequences with such high sensitivity that a single molecule may be detected. Such sensitivity is achieved using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to measure surface forces. Modifying an AFM tip with a single strand of DNA allows the complementary strand (the target) to be recognized via hybridization to form the double helix. The occurrence of hybridization is determined by differences in surface force measurements compared with when only the single strand of DNA is present. In this way DNA samples can be analyzed without amplification; a major advance for DNA diagnostics.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of nanowires and application as nanosensors for chemical and biological detections. This project is expected to bring significant scientific, economic and social benefits. We will develop a number of techniques for the controlled growth of nanowires and making functional nanoscale systems such as nanosensors. The nanosensors will have important applications in chemistry and biology. Some chemical species can be detected by nanosensors on molecular scale. The nanosensors could be used f ....Synthesis of nanowires and application as nanosensors for chemical and biological detections. This project is expected to bring significant scientific, economic and social benefits. We will develop a number of techniques for the controlled growth of nanowires and making functional nanoscale systems such as nanosensors. The nanosensors will have important applications in chemistry and biology. Some chemical species can be detected by nanosensors on molecular scale. The nanosensors could be used for early diagnostics of cancer disease, detection of viruses, and genomic DNA screening. The nanosensors could also provide a molecular tool for probing living cells without destroying them, through which we can track life within cells in real time.Read moreRead less