Towards Microfluidic-Based Advanced Remote Analysis. The research under this project will establish and systematically develop Advanced Remote Analysis as a new inter-disciplinary area and establish a leadership role for Australia. By addressing pressing needs such as monitoring the environment, remote medical diagnostics, advancing Australian science and technology, or monitoring for traces of explosives, this project falls directly into all four of the National Research Priorities with applica ....Towards Microfluidic-Based Advanced Remote Analysis. The research under this project will establish and systematically develop Advanced Remote Analysis as a new inter-disciplinary area and establish a leadership role for Australia. By addressing pressing needs such as monitoring the environment, remote medical diagnostics, advancing Australian science and technology, or monitoring for traces of explosives, this project falls directly into all four of the National Research Priorities with applications addressing corresponding Priority Goals. Other areas benefiting from the outcomes of this project will be remote monitoring of agricultural production including living species, and a number of other industries such as biotechnology, mineral processing, power generation etc.Read moreRead less
Self-assembled nanolayers of functionalised latexes as selective and adaptable nano-stationary phases in separation science. A new approach is proposed for the design and synthesis of functionalised ion-exchange stationary phases for analytical nano-separation methods. Desired charged functional groups are first affixed chemically onto nanometre sized latex particles and these particles are then self-assembled mechanically as monoloayer coatings onto a suitable supporting template such as fused ....Self-assembled nanolayers of functionalised latexes as selective and adaptable nano-stationary phases in separation science. A new approach is proposed for the design and synthesis of functionalised ion-exchange stationary phases for analytical nano-separation methods. Desired charged functional groups are first affixed chemically onto nanometre sized latex particles and these particles are then self-assembled mechanically as monoloayer coatings onto a suitable supporting template such as fused silica, monolithic silica or polymer beds, microfibres or microtubes, and channels in microchips. The resultant coated surface then acts as a highly efficient ion-exchange stationary phase which will be used in a wide range of separation technologies including ion chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography and solid-phase microextraction.Read moreRead less
Integrated microfluidic device for the direct analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids. Due to the way in which multiple processes are integrated in a micro Total Analysis System (µTAS), they offer substantial advantages over current technology, in terms of speed, cost of analysis, portability and operator simplicity and safety. This has considerable potential benefit for Australia, specifically for the remote and rural analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids such a ....Integrated microfluidic device for the direct analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids. Due to the way in which multiple processes are integrated in a micro Total Analysis System (µTAS), they offer substantial advantages over current technology, in terms of speed, cost of analysis, portability and operator simplicity and safety. This has considerable potential benefit for Australia, specifically for the remote and rural analysis of drugs and metabolites in biological fluids such as blood, serum, urine and saliva. These devices will have application for point-of-care testing in therapeutic drug monitoring, which will improve medical treatment and the patient's quality of life, as well as for on-site analysis in forensics for the rapid determination of illicit drugs and performance enhancing substances in our elite athletes.
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Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of novel ion-exchange polymer monolithic stationary phases for separation science. This project will provide highly significant, fundamental advances in separation science by accelerating the design and development of new stationary phases and separation technologies suitable for the analysis of very complex samples. The project will lead to very significant new intellectual property having extremely high commercial potential worldwide, and therefore t ....Synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of novel ion-exchange polymer monolithic stationary phases for separation science. This project will provide highly significant, fundamental advances in separation science by accelerating the design and development of new stationary phases and separation technologies suitable for the analysis of very complex samples. The project will lead to very significant new intellectual property having extremely high commercial potential worldwide, and therefore the project has potential for considerable direct financial returns to Australia. The new technologies will be applied in a wide range of areas of national importance including pre-and post-blast identification of explosives in counter-terrorism applications; environmental, clinical, and forensic analysis; energy generation and foods. Read moreRead less
Enhanced peak capacity in ion chromatography through gradient elution and multidimensional separations. Current methodology in ion chromatography (IC) is limited in that very complex samples cannot be analysed because the peak capacity of conventional IC systems is insufficient. The proposed research will provide a huge increase in peak capacity so that samples of extreme complexity can be analysed. Samples of this type occur in many fields, including environmental, clinical, forensic, energy ge ....Enhanced peak capacity in ion chromatography through gradient elution and multidimensional separations. Current methodology in ion chromatography (IC) is limited in that very complex samples cannot be analysed because the peak capacity of conventional IC systems is insufficient. The proposed research will provide a huge increase in peak capacity so that samples of extreme complexity can be analysed. Samples of this type occur in many fields, including environmental, clinical, forensic, energy generation and foods. The ability to directly address such samples will therefore provide benefit to a wide range of sciences of great importance to Australia. Moreover, the proposed research will lead to significant new intellectual property which can be commercialised, thereby providing further direct national benefit.Read moreRead less
ON-LINE PRECONCENTRATION IN CAPILLARY ELECTROSEPARATIONS USING SEGMENTED CAPILLARIES. This project aims to develop new on-line methods for trace enrichment of analytes in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography. The capillaries to be used will comprise a preconcentration zone and a separation zone with the research focusing predominantly on the chemistry of the preconcentration zone. Preconcentrators formed from wall-coatings and solid stationary phases will be used. The ....ON-LINE PRECONCENTRATION IN CAPILLARY ELECTROSEPARATIONS USING SEGMENTED CAPILLARIES. This project aims to develop new on-line methods for trace enrichment of analytes in capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography. The capillaries to be used will comprise a preconcentration zone and a separation zone with the research focusing predominantly on the chemistry of the preconcentration zone. Preconcentrators formed from wall-coatings and solid stationary phases will be used. The project will result in new, highly sensitive analytical methods for inorganic ions, low molecular weight acids and bases, and proteins and peptides. These methods will have application in a wide range of important areas including environmental analysis and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
New separation technologies for profiling metabolites in biological samples. Metabolomics is an important new field of science that is contributing to the understanding of life processes at the molecular level. But a widely acknowledged major limitation of current metabolomics technologies is the inability to accurately identify high numbers of detected metabolites in the biological extracts being studied. This project will develop cutting-edge separation science approaches to address this exist ....New separation technologies for profiling metabolites in biological samples. Metabolomics is an important new field of science that is contributing to the understanding of life processes at the molecular level. But a widely acknowledged major limitation of current metabolomics technologies is the inability to accurately identify high numbers of detected metabolites in the biological extracts being studied. This project will develop cutting-edge separation science approaches to address this existing problem in metabolomics analysis. In doing so it will provide enormous benefit to Australian biotechnology and biomedical research and play a major role in transferring capabilities to laboratories and research institutes that are involved in research aimed at elucidating biological pathways and networks.Read moreRead less
Simulation and optimisation of retention in ion chromatography with multi-step elution profiles. Current methodology in ion chromatography (IC) is limited in that the ability to perform multi-step elution and multi-dimensional separations is underutilised. The proposed research will provide a huge increase in usable separation power so that samples of extreme complexity can be analysed rapidly and simply. Samples of this type occur in many fields, including environmental, clinical, forensic, ene ....Simulation and optimisation of retention in ion chromatography with multi-step elution profiles. Current methodology in ion chromatography (IC) is limited in that the ability to perform multi-step elution and multi-dimensional separations is underutilised. The proposed research will provide a huge increase in usable separation power so that samples of extreme complexity can be analysed rapidly and simply. Samples of this type occur in many fields, including environmental, clinical, forensic, energy generation and foods. The ability to directly address such samples will therefore provide benefit to a wide range of sciences of great importance to Australia. Moreover, the proposed research will lead to significant new intellectual property which can be commercialised, thereby providing further direct national benefit.Read moreRead less
Multidimensional Electroseparation Systems for the analysis of complex bilogical samples. The analysis of biological proteomic and metaboleomic samples is difficult due to the enormous number of components and their low abundance. Two-dimensioal electrophoresis has many limitations with regard to sensitivty, dynamic range and automation to mass spectrometry, while chromatographic two-dimensional systems are inefficient and time consuming. This proposal aims at developing new technology for pr ....Multidimensional Electroseparation Systems for the analysis of complex bilogical samples. The analysis of biological proteomic and metaboleomic samples is difficult due to the enormous number of components and their low abundance. Two-dimensioal electrophoresis has many limitations with regard to sensitivty, dynamic range and automation to mass spectrometry, while chromatographic two-dimensional systems are inefficient and time consuming. This proposal aims at developing new technology for proteomic analyses by deveoping a multidimensional electroseparation system to provide highly efficient, rapid and sensitive analysis of proteomic samples.Read moreRead less
On-fibre separation science with ambient ionisation mass spectrometry. This project aims to combine fibre-based electrofluidics and ambient ionisation mass spectrometry. Fibre-based electrophoresis is a separation technology which is cheaper, simpler and faster than pre-MS analyses. This project will use the fibre simultaneously as the ionisation platform for ambient mass spectrometry, combining the processes of separation and ionisation in a portable and flexible platform. The developed technol ....On-fibre separation science with ambient ionisation mass spectrometry. This project aims to combine fibre-based electrofluidics and ambient ionisation mass spectrometry. Fibre-based electrophoresis is a separation technology which is cheaper, simpler and faster than pre-MS analyses. This project will use the fibre simultaneously as the ionisation platform for ambient mass spectrometry, combining the processes of separation and ionisation in a portable and flexible platform. The developed technology is expected to provide new capability in bioanalysis, proteomics and rapid clinical diagnostics. Future benefits may include new commercial fibre based technologies which could be applied within industrial and clinical laboratories within the next ten years.Read moreRead less