Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668374
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$470,000.00
Summary
State-of-the-art NMR Facilities. This proposal will significantly enhance the NMR research capability and capacities at UoW and ANU. These schools have internationally recognised strengths in fundamentals of synthetic organic chemistry, therapeutic drug design and synthesis, protein chemistry and structural biology. This equipment will enhance the productivity of these researchers, increase their collaborative and scientific outputs and allow for training of students in the latest technologies ....State-of-the-art NMR Facilities. This proposal will significantly enhance the NMR research capability and capacities at UoW and ANU. These schools have internationally recognised strengths in fundamentals of synthetic organic chemistry, therapeutic drug design and synthesis, protein chemistry and structural biology. This equipment will enhance the productivity of these researchers, increase their collaborative and scientific outputs and allow for training of students in the latest technologies and importantly, contribute to Australia's development as a knowledge-based economy.Read moreRead less
The development of a rapid diagnostic test for heparanase activity. Heparanase is an enzyme that has been implicated in a number of disease states such as cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. Characterisation of this enzyme has been slow, due in part to the lack of a reliable direct activity assay. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this project seeks to establish a rapid assay that will provide easy determination of heparanase activity. Furthermore, this a ....The development of a rapid diagnostic test for heparanase activity. Heparanase is an enzyme that has been implicated in a number of disease states such as cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory diseases. Characterisation of this enzyme has been slow, due in part to the lack of a reliable direct activity assay. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this project seeks to establish a rapid assay that will provide easy determination of heparanase activity. Furthermore, this assay could provide a useful diagnostic tool in a clinical environment that would allow for the rapid assessment of these diseases, their progression and indeed response to therapy.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence - Centre for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology. Free radical chemistry is of increasing importance in the manufacture of improved plastics, paints and related materials, in helping restrict oxidative processes that can lead to adverse human health and also to the degradation of important industrial materials. The research will contribute to promoting & maintaining good health by developing new methods for reducing the impacts of ageing as well as in the treatment ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Centre for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology. Free radical chemistry is of increasing importance in the manufacture of improved plastics, paints and related materials, in helping restrict oxidative processes that can lead to adverse human health and also to the degradation of important industrial materials. The research will contribute to promoting & maintaining good health by developing new methods for reducing the impacts of ageing as well as in the treatment of several life-threatening conditions such as stroke. Industrial applications include better surface coatings for preserving metals, and additives to improve the quality and shelf life of beer and wines.Read moreRead less
Redox-Tuneable Sensitisers for Photodynamic Therapy of Malignant and Non-Malignant Proliferative Diseases. Cancer is currently Australia's leading cause of death with 85 231 new cases reported during 2000, costing the health system >$2 billion annually. Photodynamic Therapy is a promising anti-cancer therapy which combines the action of a photosensitising drug and light to destroy tumours. This project will lead to the development of new photosensitisers which will enable the specific targeting ....Redox-Tuneable Sensitisers for Photodynamic Therapy of Malignant and Non-Malignant Proliferative Diseases. Cancer is currently Australia's leading cause of death with 85 231 new cases reported during 2000, costing the health system >$2 billion annually. Photodynamic Therapy is a promising anti-cancer therapy which combines the action of a photosensitising drug and light to destroy tumours. This project will lead to the development of new photosensitisers which will enable the specific targeting of tumours while protecting healthy tissue from damage. Post-treatment skin photosensitivity will be minimised by antioxidant features integrated into the photosensitisers. The development of improved photosensitisers during this project will ultimately lead to improved treatment and new alternatives for Australian cancer sufferers.Read moreRead less
Asymmetric Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Bioactive Alkaloids and their Analogues. We propose to develop innovative methods for preparing bioactive natural products and their analogues with potential applications as new and safer therapeutic drugs and agricultural chemicals. This project would make important scientific contributions to the advancement of the fundamentals of synthetic organic chemistry and contribute to Australia's development as a knowledge-based economy. The methodolo ....Asymmetric Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Bioactive Alkaloids and their Analogues. We propose to develop innovative methods for preparing bioactive natural products and their analogues with potential applications as new and safer therapeutic drugs and agricultural chemicals. This project would make important scientific contributions to the advancement of the fundamentals of synthetic organic chemistry and contribute to Australia's development as a knowledge-based economy. The methodology and products developed may have potential pharmaceutical and agricultural applications from which the country could benefit from in the future. This project would help developed skilled people that may develop innovative outcomes in the future, especially in the developing pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Solid-phase synthesis of sulfopeptides for evaluation of chemokine-receptor recognition. This research program will develop new chemical methods for preparing biologically active molecules that contain sulphate. These molecules have important functions in controlling blood clotting, hormone activity, immune responses, and AIDS or malarial infection. The new chemical methods will be used to study the interactions of two groups of proteins that control the movement of white blood cells in inflamma ....Solid-phase synthesis of sulfopeptides for evaluation of chemokine-receptor recognition. This research program will develop new chemical methods for preparing biologically active molecules that contain sulphate. These molecules have important functions in controlling blood clotting, hormone activity, immune responses, and AIDS or malarial infection. The new chemical methods will be used to study the interactions of two groups of proteins that control the movement of white blood cells in inflammatory responses. The research will provide insights into the biochemistry of inflammation and will contribute to the development of new therapies for diseases affecting young Australians (allergy, asthma, and viral infections) as well as the elderly (atherosclerosis and arthritis).Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Novel Sialylmimetics as Inhibitors of Rotavirus. Rotavirus causes severe gastroenteritis in infants worldwide. Over 125 million cases of diarrhoea and 800,000 deaths annually are attributed to rotavirus. The process that enables this debilitating and sometimes fatal disease to infect cells is poorly understood. This project aims to produce a range of unique chemical entities that will provide information about the way rotavirus infects cells. The chemical compounds produc ....An Investigation of Novel Sialylmimetics as Inhibitors of Rotavirus. Rotavirus causes severe gastroenteritis in infants worldwide. Over 125 million cases of diarrhoea and 800,000 deaths annually are attributed to rotavirus. The process that enables this debilitating and sometimes fatal disease to infect cells is poorly understood. This project aims to produce a range of unique chemical entities that will provide information about the way rotavirus infects cells. The chemical compounds produced in this study will be evaluated for their ability to prevent rotavirus from infecting cells. It is expected that this project will provide compounds that may ultimately be used as drugs for the treatment of rotavirus.Read moreRead less
Synthesis and evaluation of anti-microbial porphyrin adducts for the targeted inhibition of Porphyromonas gingivalis. At present the effectiveness of therapy for inflammatory disease of the gum tissue (periodontitis) is limited by the lack of a selective anti-microbial agent. The investigators have discovered a novel mechanism of binding of the blood product porphyrin by a unique receptor of a key pathogen implicated in this disease. By exploiting this knowledge a modified porphyrin linked to an ....Synthesis and evaluation of anti-microbial porphyrin adducts for the targeted inhibition of Porphyromonas gingivalis. At present the effectiveness of therapy for inflammatory disease of the gum tissue (periodontitis) is limited by the lack of a selective anti-microbial agent. The investigators have discovered a novel mechanism of binding of the blood product porphyrin by a unique receptor of a key pathogen implicated in this disease. By exploiting this knowledge a modified porphyrin linked to an antibiotic was shown to have a selective effect on the target organism. Refinement of this complex has the potential to provide a clinically useful, selective agent.Read moreRead less
Chemical Synthesis of Bioactive Metabolites and Analogues from Marine Sources and Myxobacteria. This project could result in the production of a new type of anticancer compound. The proposal will study the synthesis of novel natural product analogues that could possess superior biological activities to the natural compounds. In addition, new chemistry may be developed which could be utilised to synthesise a number of related molecules.
Covalent Hydrogen Bond Mimetics of Helical Peptide Hormones. Peptide hormones have been identified that adopt a helical shape when bound to their receptor. The project will produce new versions of these hormones by the use of directly bonded chemical linkers in place of the relatively weak helix hydrogen bonds. The resulting hormone mimics will be more stable, have lower molecular weight and be more selective than the natural hormones making them more suitable as drugs. Our new chemical techn ....Covalent Hydrogen Bond Mimetics of Helical Peptide Hormones. Peptide hormones have been identified that adopt a helical shape when bound to their receptor. The project will produce new versions of these hormones by the use of directly bonded chemical linkers in place of the relatively weak helix hydrogen bonds. The resulting hormone mimics will be more stable, have lower molecular weight and be more selective than the natural hormones making them more suitable as drugs. Our new chemical techniques allow us for the first time to fully investigate this approach which if successful will be applicable to many other helical peptides and therefore could be an important drug development technique.Read moreRead less