Venom-derived blood-brain-barrier shuttles. This project aims to discover new venom peptides capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and to develop non-toxic peptide-based brain delivery systems. It addresses long-standing challenges and knowledge gaps in the delivery of macromolecules across biological barriers. Expected outcomes include an improved understanding of the strategies nature exploits to reach targets in the brain, mechanistic pathways to cross biological membranes, and innovati ....Venom-derived blood-brain-barrier shuttles. This project aims to discover new venom peptides capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and to develop non-toxic peptide-based brain delivery systems. It addresses long-standing challenges and knowledge gaps in the delivery of macromolecules across biological barriers. Expected outcomes include an improved understanding of the strategies nature exploits to reach targets in the brain, mechanistic pathways to cross biological membranes, and innovative discovery and chemistry strategies to advance fundamental research across the chemical and biological sciences. Anticipated benefits include technological innovations relevant to Australia’s biotechnology sector and enhanced capacity for cross-disciplinary collaboration.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE240100134
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$796,206.00
Summary
Super-resolution platform to accelerate biological and molecular research. This application aims to establish a new molecular analysis platform integrating a microfluid capillary electrophoresis interface directly to a mass spectrometer with advanced data scanning technology. This enables label-free detection, quantitation and characterisation of intact proteins, lipids and metabolites with unprecedented sensitivity, resolution and throughput. It will enhance ARC projects spanning natural produc ....Super-resolution platform to accelerate biological and molecular research. This application aims to establish a new molecular analysis platform integrating a microfluid capillary electrophoresis interface directly to a mass spectrometer with advanced data scanning technology. This enables label-free detection, quantitation and characterisation of intact proteins, lipids and metabolites with unprecedented sensitivity, resolution and throughput. It will enhance ARC projects spanning natural product discovery, biotechnology, agriculture, and animal, plant and marine biology, as well as single-cell proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics. It will ensure Australia remains at the forefront of molecular and biological research and create new training and collaborative opportunities both nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Advances in Peptide Synthesis: Exploiting Underutilised Functional Groups. The translation of therapeutically-relevant classes of peptides to the clinic is often limited by chemists' ability to synthesise these complex biomolecules efficiently and sustainably. This project aims to develop new tools for the preparation of designer peptides that are broadly inspired by an underutilised reactive group found in naturally-occurring peptide sequences. Expected outcomes encompass health and economic be ....Advances in Peptide Synthesis: Exploiting Underutilised Functional Groups. The translation of therapeutically-relevant classes of peptides to the clinic is often limited by chemists' ability to synthesise these complex biomolecules efficiently and sustainably. This project aims to develop new tools for the preparation of designer peptides that are broadly inspired by an underutilised reactive group found in naturally-occurring peptide sequences. Expected outcomes encompass health and economic benefits for the Australian community, including: the first approach to a class of promising antibiotic peptide natural product analogues, the development of a mild electrochemical approach to peptide modification, and the production of a library of novel amino acids for incorporation into potential antibiotic leads.Read moreRead less
Investigations into the antibacterial mechanism of action of cannabidiol. Cannabidiol (CBD) comes from a set of naturally occurring compounds, with a range of applications in mainstream culture. We have recently reported that CBD has excellent antimicrobial properties, with the ability to kill bacteria. This project aims to understand how CBD works by examining CBD-bacterial interactions at a genetic and molecular level. By understanding how CBD acts on and within bacterial cells, we can create ....Investigations into the antibacterial mechanism of action of cannabidiol. Cannabidiol (CBD) comes from a set of naturally occurring compounds, with a range of applications in mainstream culture. We have recently reported that CBD has excellent antimicrobial properties, with the ability to kill bacteria. This project aims to understand how CBD works by examining CBD-bacterial interactions at a genetic and molecular level. By understanding how CBD acts on and within bacterial cells, we can create fundamental new knowledge that could lead to the design of improved analogs of CBD to that can treat bacterial infections. As a much-needed completely new antibiotic class, this will lead to significant benefits, supporting Australia's National Strategy to combat the challenges posed by antimicrobial resistance.Read moreRead less
Defining a new family of sodium channel accessory proteins. Voltage-gated sodium channels are key proteins that function as multi-subunit complexes to regulate neuronal excitability. The project aims to investigate the structure and function of a novel family of accessory subunits by utilizing a class of toxins, derived from the giant Australian stinging tree, that directly binds to these proteins to modulate sodium channel function. The project aims to generate significant new knowledge on the ....Defining a new family of sodium channel accessory proteins. Voltage-gated sodium channels are key proteins that function as multi-subunit complexes to regulate neuronal excitability. The project aims to investigate the structure and function of a novel family of accessory subunits by utilizing a class of toxins, derived from the giant Australian stinging tree, that directly binds to these proteins to modulate sodium channel function. The project aims to generate significant new knowledge on the function of sodium channels as multi-protein complexes. Expected outcomes of this project include development of novel channel-modulating molecules that may have applications as neuroscience tools to address fundamental questions about ion channel function and biology.Read moreRead less
Oxytocin receptor PET ligands: imaging the love receptor’s engagement. This project aims to develop a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand for the oxytocin receptor. This novel platform is significant as it will allow the scientific community to answer questions about the role of the oxytocin receptor in the important process of social behaviour which underlies quality of life. This knowledge gap has remained unanswered for decades due to the lack of specific techniques to measure oxytocin ....Oxytocin receptor PET ligands: imaging the love receptor’s engagement. This project aims to develop a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand for the oxytocin receptor. This novel platform is significant as it will allow the scientific community to answer questions about the role of the oxytocin receptor in the important process of social behaviour which underlies quality of life. This knowledge gap has remained unanswered for decades due to the lack of specific techniques to measure oxytocin receptor engagement. It is also significant as it will equip Australian startup Kinoxis Therapeutics to progress their molecules to market, a process enabled by measuring oxytocin receptor engagement. Our dual expertise on the oxytocin receptor and PET ligand development uniquely situate us to generate this technology.Read moreRead less
Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics. This project aims to define how to access silent biosynthetic genes within microbial genome to facilitate access to new chemical diversity hidden within microbial genomes. Using interdisciplinary approaches in genome mining and metabolomics technologies, the project expects to inspire and enable the future design of more effective antibiotics. Expected outcomes from this program include define new microbial defence molecules, ....Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics. This project aims to define how to access silent biosynthetic genes within microbial genome to facilitate access to new chemical diversity hidden within microbial genomes. Using interdisciplinary approaches in genome mining and metabolomics technologies, the project expects to inspire and enable the future design of more effective antibiotics. Expected outcomes from this program include define new microbial defence molecules, to meet future demands in agrochemical and environmental sciences. It will also train future scientists and develop international collaborations. This should provide significant benefit, including a higher-quality workforce for research and innovation, positioning Australia at the forefront of drug discovery. Read moreRead less