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Understanding and changing the mechanism of an enzyme: converting a peptidase to a phosphotriesterase. Enzymes have the ability to catalyse biological reactions rapidly as a consequence of their unique three-dimensional structures. We seek to define the structures of a family of metalloenzymes that are required in most living organisms to activate hormones, degrade unwanted proteins or recycle the protein building blocks for further synthesis. We shall use this information to enhance a second ....Understanding and changing the mechanism of an enzyme: converting a peptidase to a phosphotriesterase. Enzymes have the ability to catalyse biological reactions rapidly as a consequence of their unique three-dimensional structures. We seek to define the structures of a family of metalloenzymes that are required in most living organisms to activate hormones, degrade unwanted proteins or recycle the protein building blocks for further synthesis. We shall use this information to enhance a second function of these enzymes, namely their ability to break down organophosphorus-containing insecticides and nerve agents. Ultimately, the structural information resulting from this project may be used in drug design to regulate blood pressure and in engineering proteins for bioremediation.Read moreRead less
Organophosphate pesticide degradation: evolved enzymes and biomimetics for bioremediation and medicine. Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are an indispensable part of modern agriculture - their use results in dramatically increased crop yields. However, they are toxic and can damage the environment and cause significant health problems. Enzymes are currently being used to treat runoff water that is contaminated with OPs. The same enzymes also have the potential to aid in the treatment of OP poison ....Organophosphate pesticide degradation: evolved enzymes and biomimetics for bioremediation and medicine. Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are an indispensable part of modern agriculture - their use results in dramatically increased crop yields. However, they are toxic and can damage the environment and cause significant health problems. Enzymes are currently being used to treat runoff water that is contaminated with OPs. The same enzymes also have the potential to aid in the treatment of OP poisoning. However, OP degrading enzymes could be improved in many ways - we will evolve these enzymes to enhance their catalytic properties - to enable them to act more efficiently on an increased number of OPs. Read moreRead less
Directed evolution of enzymes for bioremediation: structure function studies of bimetalloenzymes. We will evolve enzymes that degrade organophosphate pesticides (OPs) that are used in Australian agriculture. Although these OPs were designed to kill insects they are closely related to chemical warfare agents and are known to be toxic to humans. Bacteria have acquired a number of enzymes that degrade some OPs. One such enzyme has been used in field trials demonstrating its potential to degrade OP ....Directed evolution of enzymes for bioremediation: structure function studies of bimetalloenzymes. We will evolve enzymes that degrade organophosphate pesticides (OPs) that are used in Australian agriculture. Although these OPs were designed to kill insects they are closely related to chemical warfare agents and are known to be toxic to humans. Bacteria have acquired a number of enzymes that degrade some OPs. One such enzyme has been used in field trials demonstrating its potential to degrade OP residues. However, many pesticides are not removed rapidly and OP-degrading enzymes require modification(s) if they are to be useful environmental reagents - this can be achieved with directed evolution. Read moreRead less
NMR Studies of Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these ne ....NMR Studies of Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students.Read moreRead less
DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. Mechanistic NMR studies probing the origin of the unique antitumour activity of BBR3464. BBR3464 is one of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs that is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is quite different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow the processes involved in the initial binding of the dr ....DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. Mechanistic NMR studies probing the origin of the unique antitumour activity of BBR3464. BBR3464 is one of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs that is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is quite different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow the processes involved in the initial binding of the drug to DNA and the subsequent reactions of the adducts formed. The results of this work will aid in the selection of back-up clinical candidates and in the design of drugs that target specific sequences of DNA for use in novel gene-based therapies.Read moreRead less
Probing polynuclear platinum biomolecule interactions. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration with the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at t ....Probing polynuclear platinum biomolecule interactions. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration with the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students. Read moreRead less
Design, Evaluation, and Selection of Novel Pt(IV) Complexes as Anticancer Agents. Platinum anticancer drugs are arguably the most widely used anticancer agents in the world but serious problems remain with toxicity and resistance. Platinum(IV) compounds have numerous advantages in terms of stability and thereby, lower toxicity. In this project we will exploit these advantages along with others that we have discovered recently and our understanding of the chemistry and biology of platinum(IV) to ....Design, Evaluation, and Selection of Novel Pt(IV) Complexes as Anticancer Agents. Platinum anticancer drugs are arguably the most widely used anticancer agents in the world but serious problems remain with toxicity and resistance. Platinum(IV) compounds have numerous advantages in terms of stability and thereby, lower toxicity. In this project we will exploit these advantages along with others that we have discovered recently and our understanding of the chemistry and biology of platinum(IV) to develop novel platinum(IV) compounds to the point where the industry partner can commercialise them.Read moreRead less
Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Mechanistic NMR Studies Probing DNA Binding and Pharmacokinetics. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration betwe ....Second Generation Polynuclear Platinum Compounds. Mechanistic NMR Studies Probing DNA Binding and Pharmacokinetics. Cancer affects one in four Australians and 50% of cancer patients are treated with cisplatin. BBR3464 is a new type of platinum anticancer drug that has shown promise in clinical trials, including results in cancers that do not respond to cisplatin treatment. Second-generation analogues, now under development, may offer significant advantages. This international collaboration between Prof. Berners-Price and the inventor of these new drugs puts Australian research at the forefront of the clinical development. There is the potential for the generation of new IP from new strategies in the design of improved anticancer drugs. The project builds strong international links and provides international training for Australian PhD students. Read moreRead less
NMR studies on DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. BBR3464 is representative of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs, and is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow in detail the stepwise formation of DNA adducts. Further extension to reactions of polynuclear platinum complexes with sulfur ....NMR studies on DNA interactions of polynuclear platinum. BBR3464 is representative of a class of structurally unique platinum anticancer drugs, and is currently undergoing clinical trials. The anticancer activity most likely depends on binding to DNA, but the mechanism is different from that of the widely used drug, cisplatin. This project uses NMR spectroscopy to follow in detail the stepwise formation of DNA adducts. Further extension to reactions of polynuclear platinum complexes with sulfur nucleophiles will aid in understanding their metabolism and toxicity. The results of this work will aid in the selection of back-up clinical candidates and the design of drugs that target specific sequences of DNA for use in novel gene-based therapies.Read moreRead less
Gold phosphine and carbene complexes as potential antimitochondrial anticancer agents: design, synthesis and biological chemistry. To overcome the two major problems associated with existing anticancer drugs (resistance to therapy and lack of discrimination between normal and cancer cells) there is much current interest in targeting mitochondrial cell death pathways in chemotherapy. This project will probe the mode of action of a series of gold complexes containing pyridylphosphines that may ac ....Gold phosphine and carbene complexes as potential antimitochondrial anticancer agents: design, synthesis and biological chemistry. To overcome the two major problems associated with existing anticancer drugs (resistance to therapy and lack of discrimination between normal and cancer cells) there is much current interest in targeting mitochondrial cell death pathways in chemotherapy. This project will probe the mode of action of a series of gold complexes containing pyridylphosphines that may act by an antimitochondrial mechanism. Also, we will evaluate a new family of gold complexes based on carbene rather than phosphine components. Such compounds offer the potential advantages of ease of synthesis, lower toxicity and the ability to fine-tune molecular properties to maximise anticancer activity.Read moreRead less