Light-activated Bioconjugates for Applications in Synthesis and Biosensing. This project will allow the Australian biotechnology industry to develop better diagnostic biosensors that are controlled using light, making them cheaper and faster than the current generation of electronically controlled biosensors. Improvements in the response time of biosensors can be a matter of life and death, for instance, during a surgical operation. The project will benefit the pharmaceutical industry as it will ....Light-activated Bioconjugates for Applications in Synthesis and Biosensing. This project will allow the Australian biotechnology industry to develop better diagnostic biosensors that are controlled using light, making them cheaper and faster than the current generation of electronically controlled biosensors. Improvements in the response time of biosensors can be a matter of life and death, for instance, during a surgical operation. The project will benefit the pharmaceutical industry as it will allow the making of so-called chiral drugs cheaper and safer but problems with the purity of chiral drugs have in the past caused serious side-effects such as in the tragic case of thalidomide.Read moreRead less
Self-Assembly of Nanoscale Molecular Capsules. Nature uses the self-assembly of molecules for the construction of highly complex and functional structures. An understanding of this process will enable the design of new molecular systems, capable of application in areas that include medicine, electronics and communications. Such self-assembly will play a key role in the development of nanotechnology, a rapidly expanding field that is likely to become a major technology in the foreseeable future. ....Self-Assembly of Nanoscale Molecular Capsules. Nature uses the self-assembly of molecules for the construction of highly complex and functional structures. An understanding of this process will enable the design of new molecular systems, capable of application in areas that include medicine, electronics and communications. Such self-assembly will play a key role in the development of nanotechnology, a rapidly expanding field that is likely to become a major technology in the foreseeable future. It is of crucial importance for Australia to maintain cutting-edge research (and research training) in this area if the nation and its industries are to be active contributors to the coming revolution.Read moreRead less
Control of the Enantiomeric Self-Resolution Process. The availability of enantiopure molecules is crucial in chemistry and medicine. Enantiomeric self-resolution on crystallisation provides pure left- and right-handed molecules from 1:1 mixtures of the two. It is the simplest and cheapest means of obtaining enantiopure molecules, but its occurrence in any given case cannot normally be
predicted. The understanding and control of the self-resolution process gained through this project will repre ....Control of the Enantiomeric Self-Resolution Process. The availability of enantiopure molecules is crucial in chemistry and medicine. Enantiomeric self-resolution on crystallisation provides pure left- and right-handed molecules from 1:1 mixtures of the two. It is the simplest and cheapest means of obtaining enantiopure molecules, but its occurrence in any given case cannot normally be
predicted. The understanding and control of the self-resolution process gained through this project will represent a major breakthrough in organic and pharmaceutical chemistry. This technological advance will make pure handed molecules available readily and cheaply, thereby allowing chemical, pharmaceutical and biological developments to be made by Australian industry.
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Advanced Functional Properties in Coordination Framework Materials. The design and construction of advanced nanomaterials represents both a key area of fundamental research and a critical step in the push towards smarter and more efficient high-level technologies. Here we explore the strategic synthesis of molecular materials that have entirely new and highly useful properties, namely, nanoporosity and negative thermal expansion. This innovative work will lead to important fundamental advances ....Advanced Functional Properties in Coordination Framework Materials. The design and construction of advanced nanomaterials represents both a key area of fundamental research and a critical step in the push towards smarter and more efficient high-level technologies. Here we explore the strategic synthesis of molecular materials that have entirely new and highly useful properties, namely, nanoporosity and negative thermal expansion. This innovative work will lead to important fundamental advances in nanoscience and will forge deep understandings of how physical properties relate to nanoscale structure. These advances will spur a wide range of important new technologies, with future application of the materials in molecular separations, sensing, energy conversion, electronics and photonics.Read moreRead less
Novel Synthetic Receptors For Selective Recognition of Phosphate Oxoanions. Anions are critical to the maintenance of life, playing roles in almost every biochemical process. Artificial anion receptors that bind strongly to specific anions have considerable potential applications in biomedicine, but current receptors do not possess the required selectivity for applications. We will undertake the design and construction of a number of molecular receptors tailored to complement the size, shape and ....Novel Synthetic Receptors For Selective Recognition of Phosphate Oxoanions. Anions are critical to the maintenance of life, playing roles in almost every biochemical process. Artificial anion receptors that bind strongly to specific anions have considerable potential applications in biomedicine, but current receptors do not possess the required selectivity for applications. We will undertake the design and construction of a number of molecular receptors tailored to complement the size, shape and charge of specific biologically important anions and will assess their ability to bind selectively to their target guests. This will lead to the development of small molecule receptors for use in biomedical applications.Read moreRead less
Anion Binding and Sensing With Self-Assembled Metallo-Supramolecular Assemblies. Anions are of particular significance in several areas relating to the day-to-day lives of Australians; for example as contaminants in waterways and nuclear waste streams, as indicators of chemical weapons, and as antagonists in biological systems. The proposed research programme will investigate a relatively unexplored approach to binding and sensing anions. This will further research in the area of supramolecular ....Anion Binding and Sensing With Self-Assembled Metallo-Supramolecular Assemblies. Anions are of particular significance in several areas relating to the day-to-day lives of Australians; for example as contaminants in waterways and nuclear waste streams, as indicators of chemical weapons, and as antagonists in biological systems. The proposed research programme will investigate a relatively unexplored approach to binding and sensing anions. This will further research in the area of supramolecular chemistry, providing additional research expertise in this rapidly progressing area of the chemical sciences. In terms of Breakthrough science the targeted assemblies will shed further light on self-assembly processes involving ligands with different domains, placing Australian research at the forefront of such investigations.Read moreRead less
Multivalent drug delivery carrier for the targeted delivery of platinum anticancer agents to hepatocytes. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often treated with chemotherapy using cytotoxic drugs. This systemic treatment results in the distribution of the drug throughout the body. Employing a polymer particle as a drug carrier for these drugs ensures a temporal control of the release and therefore supply of the drug within the body. By attaching carbohydrate moieties onto the surface of the polyme ....Multivalent drug delivery carrier for the targeted delivery of platinum anticancer agents to hepatocytes. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often treated with chemotherapy using cytotoxic drugs. This systemic treatment results in the distribution of the drug throughout the body. Employing a polymer particle as a drug carrier for these drugs ensures a temporal control of the release and therefore supply of the drug within the body. By attaching carbohydrate moieties onto the surface of the polymer particle the drug carrier can specifically be recognized by cell receptors, thus allowing a targeted delivery of the drug to the desired area in the body. A range of carbohydrate-based drug carriers will be synthesized and tested towards their interaction with hepatocytes to allow optimisation of this drug carrier system.
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Self-Assembled Porphyrin-Fullerene Photovoltaic Electrodes: Towards Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells. Energy is arguably the single most important problem facing humanity today. The development of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technology could dramatically change this, providing humanity with renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The need to replace present electrical energy generation, largely based on fossil fuel, is without argument given the detrimental effects of global ....Self-Assembled Porphyrin-Fullerene Photovoltaic Electrodes: Towards Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells. Energy is arguably the single most important problem facing humanity today. The development of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technology could dramatically change this, providing humanity with renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The need to replace present electrical energy generation, largely based on fossil fuel, is without argument given the detrimental effects of global warming from increasing carbon dioxide production. The development and implementation of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technologies in Australia will not only ensure its sustainable economic growth but also contribute in a major way to the improved use of land, water, mineral and other energy resources in Australia. Read moreRead less
Molecular Framework Materials: Nanoporosity and Anomalous Thermal Expansion. The design and construction of advanced nanomaterials represents both a key area of fundamental research and a critical step in the push towards smarter and more efficient high-level technologies. Here we explore the strategic assembly of molecular materials that have entirely new and highly useful properties, namely, nanoporosity and anomalous thermal expansion. This innovative work will lead to important fundamental ....Molecular Framework Materials: Nanoporosity and Anomalous Thermal Expansion. The design and construction of advanced nanomaterials represents both a key area of fundamental research and a critical step in the push towards smarter and more efficient high-level technologies. Here we explore the strategic assembly of molecular materials that have entirely new and highly useful properties, namely, nanoporosity and anomalous thermal expansion. This innovative work will lead to important fundamental advances in nanoscience and will forge deep understandings of how materials properties relate to nanoscale structure. These advances will spur a wide range of important new technologies, with application of the materials in molecular separations and sensing, clean energy storage, electronics and photonics.Read moreRead less
Internally decorated discrete Metallo-supramolecular Assemblies and infinite Metal-Organic Frameworks as molecular containers. In the macroscopic world, containers are used to hold, provide physical protection, or create a modified environment for their contents. This project will result in the synthesis of novel molecular container materials that provide decorated internal surfaces capable of selectively binding chemical species. In addition to the breakthrough scientific benefits of establish ....Internally decorated discrete Metallo-supramolecular Assemblies and infinite Metal-Organic Frameworks as molecular containers. In the macroscopic world, containers are used to hold, provide physical protection, or create a modified environment for their contents. This project will result in the synthesis of novel molecular container materials that provide decorated internal surfaces capable of selectively binding chemical species. In addition to the breakthrough scientific benefits of establishing the fundamentals of these systems, the binding of chemicals, which are environmental contaminants, will provide the grounding for applications that will contribute to the national priority of 'Frontier technologies'. Furthermore, this research will lead to the training of the next generation of Australian scientists by quality international researchers.Read moreRead less