Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560672
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$202,705.00
Summary
Ultrafast laser facility for chemical, biological and physical investigations of advanced materials. Ultrafast laser techniques are becoming indispensable in many diverse scientific disciplines. Within the Australian scientific community, there is a great need for enhanced access to sophisticated ultrafast laser instrumentation. The expansion to the femtosecond laser facility through the addition of state-of-the-art laser devices, will enable novel laser spectroscopy measurements and advanced op ....Ultrafast laser facility for chemical, biological and physical investigations of advanced materials. Ultrafast laser techniques are becoming indispensable in many diverse scientific disciplines. Within the Australian scientific community, there is a great need for enhanced access to sophisticated ultrafast laser instrumentation. The expansion to the femtosecond laser facility through the addition of state-of-the-art laser devices, will enable novel laser spectroscopy measurements and advanced optical microscopy techniques to be applied to investigations of advanced materials and biological systems. Access to such instrumentation is crucial to fields including photoluminescent conductive polymers, nanoparticles, engineered supramolecules for artificial photosynthetic systems, and photoactivated therapy and drug delivery/release technology.Read moreRead less
Response of Proteins to External Non-Ionising Radiation: an Experimental and Computer Modelling Investigation. The expanding use of digital technologies such as mobile phones has led to major health concerns about the effects of non-ionising pulsed radiation exposure which has been shown to produce instantaneous temperature rises undetectable by normal thermometry. The health implications of exposure are not understandable without establishing molecular mechanisms by which pulsed microwaves can ....Response of Proteins to External Non-Ionising Radiation: an Experimental and Computer Modelling Investigation. The expanding use of digital technologies such as mobile phones has led to major health concerns about the effects of non-ionising pulsed radiation exposure which has been shown to produce instantaneous temperature rises undetectable by normal thermometry. The health implications of exposure are not understandable without establishing molecular mechanisms by which pulsed microwaves can cause biological effects. We aim to establish methods for studying the molecular mechanisms of protein structural and energetic changes occurring due to non-ionising radiation. The results will help our industry partner to design specific drugs as well as formulate a scientifically based standard for microwave utilisation.Read moreRead less
Blends of reactive plasticizers with thermoplastic composites for improved processing and properties. This proposal is directed at novel methods of enhancing the processibility, properties and applications of polymers and should have a significant economic impact on the $7 billion commodity polymer market for Australian polymer producers and polymer converters.
The project would also extend the research opportunities of students and researchers in the rapidly growing fields of nano-composites a ....Blends of reactive plasticizers with thermoplastic composites for improved processing and properties. This proposal is directed at novel methods of enhancing the processibility, properties and applications of polymers and should have a significant economic impact on the $7 billion commodity polymer market for Australian polymer producers and polymer converters.
The project would also extend the research opportunities of students and researchers in the rapidly growing fields of nano-composites and reactive polymer processing.Read moreRead less
Towards Nano-Assembled Light Emitting Polymer Films. Advanced materials constructed with molecular level architecture through controlled nano-assembly will benefit medical science, biotechnology and nanotechnology, communications and the electronics fields. The national research priorities of nanotechnology and advanced materials through nano-assembly will be promoted by this work. This research will assist Australian industries to further advance these processes and devices leading to better qu ....Towards Nano-Assembled Light Emitting Polymer Films. Advanced materials constructed with molecular level architecture through controlled nano-assembly will benefit medical science, biotechnology and nanotechnology, communications and the electronics fields. The national research priorities of nanotechnology and advanced materials through nano-assembly will be promoted by this work. This research will assist Australian industries to further advance these processes and devices leading to better quality, cheaper, more efficient products. The Australian community will benefit through economic and technological advances. These advanced materials will promote health and environmental wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Drug binding to human fatty acid binding proteins: a mechanism of cellular transport for poorly water soluble drugs. Considerable recent effort has been directed towards the development of Australia as a focal point for biotechnology and drug discovery. The principle operational focus of this effort has been the identification of potent and active new chemical entities. In order for these new molecules to be most useful in the community, however, they must be active after oral administration. Th ....Drug binding to human fatty acid binding proteins: a mechanism of cellular transport for poorly water soluble drugs. Considerable recent effort has been directed towards the development of Australia as a focal point for biotechnology and drug discovery. The principle operational focus of this effort has been the identification of potent and active new chemical entities. In order for these new molecules to be most useful in the community, however, they must be active after oral administration. This project will examine the fundamental mechanisms by which drugs are absorbed across the cells lining the intestine and will provide insight critical to the design and development of new drugs that are both potent and orally active. Read moreRead less
Theoretical studies of molecular mechanisms of abnormal protein aggregation. Many proteins undergo conformational change and association as part of their physiological behavior. However, some proteins share a tendency to abnormal aggregation and form amyloid fibrils leading to disorders such as Alzheimer's and variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob diseases. Insulin, one such protein, has a high propensity to aggregate and form fibrils creating difficulties in preparation, storage and application. Using adva ....Theoretical studies of molecular mechanisms of abnormal protein aggregation. Many proteins undergo conformational change and association as part of their physiological behavior. However, some proteins share a tendency to abnormal aggregation and form amyloid fibrils leading to disorders such as Alzheimer's and variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob diseases. Insulin, one such protein, has a high propensity to aggregate and form fibrils creating difficulties in preparation, storage and application. Using advanced theoretical modelling techniques we will gain insight into the molecular mechanism of fibrillation by investigating the formation of insulin aggregates. An improved understanding of the essential mechanism of protein aggregation will allow the rational design of new drugs.Read moreRead less
Biodegradable polymeric microparticles for targeted delivery. The use of microparticles with tuneable physicochemical properties and loading characteristics is of interest in the fields of biomaterials, drug delivery and imaging. Such engineered particles are likely to address problems associated with conventional drugs and drug carriers, including poor disease site selectivity, polymer toxicity, non-biodegradability and free diffusion of drugs throughout the body. These microparticles may provi ....Biodegradable polymeric microparticles for targeted delivery. The use of microparticles with tuneable physicochemical properties and loading characteristics is of interest in the fields of biomaterials, drug delivery and imaging. Such engineered particles are likely to address problems associated with conventional drugs and drug carriers, including poor disease site selectivity, polymer toxicity, non-biodegradability and free diffusion of drugs throughout the body. These microparticles may provide direct advantages to society, including minimally invasive and fast in-vivo diagnostics, localised delivery of drugs and therapeutic agents with increased bioavailability, patient acceptability and reduced healthcare costs.Read moreRead less
Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these flui ....Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these fluids. The flow induced orientation, spatial distribution and nano-particle/macromolecule interactions will be quantified. Theoretical deficiencies in describing complex fluid flow will be reconciled. The experimental insight gained will be exploited to produce novel molecularly ordered materials.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775650
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
Advanced multi-purpose analytical pyrolysis facility. Investment by the ARC, two WA universities, a government research agency, a CRC (and idirectly by a water utility) demonstrate the national need for this analytical facility and the broad commitment to maintain Australia's reputation in the field of analytical pyrolysis. An innovative laser micropyrolysis facility will be concurrently used with a recent commercially available unit to support research of present day and palaeo-environmental o ....Advanced multi-purpose analytical pyrolysis facility. Investment by the ARC, two WA universities, a government research agency, a CRC (and idirectly by a water utility) demonstrate the national need for this analytical facility and the broad commitment to maintain Australia's reputation in the field of analytical pyrolysis. An innovative laser micropyrolysis facility will be concurrently used with a recent commercially available unit to support research of present day and palaeo-environmental occurrences of OM, directly assisting an eclectic range of research activities including environmental protection and petroleum exploration. This facility will also aid the chemical fingerprinting of minute forensic evidence, ultimately helping to convict perpetrators of crime.
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Novel network polymers with photoinduced plasticity. The production of crosslinked polymers (thermosets and rubbers) is a multi-billion dollar industry and these polymers are irreplaceable in their use in numerous applications in the household goods, medical, electronics, automotive and construction industries. However, they shrink during solidification causing internal stresses which weaken them and they can not be reshaped, repaired or recycled. This study will develop a novel range of cros ....Novel network polymers with photoinduced plasticity. The production of crosslinked polymers (thermosets and rubbers) is a multi-billion dollar industry and these polymers are irreplaceable in their use in numerous applications in the household goods, medical, electronics, automotive and construction industries. However, they shrink during solidification causing internal stresses which weaken them and they can not be reshaped, repaired or recycled. This study will develop a novel range of crosslinkable polymers which can change shape on irradiation by light (or by heating) for use in applications ranging from repairable composites, stress-free lens, non-shrinking dental filling materials and light-sensitive actuators which will have significant benefit to industry.Read moreRead less