Silk Fibroin Optofluidic Chips. Unlike any other material, even any other biologically occurring material, silk is unique in being very transparent, able to be shaped on a very small scale and can keep natural chemicals like proteins and enzymes active. This project will use silk to make optical devices and sensors. Optics made from silk will have all these properties, which means that they can be used as sensors and devices in biochemistry applications that have never been possible before. Thes ....Silk Fibroin Optofluidic Chips. Unlike any other material, even any other biologically occurring material, silk is unique in being very transparent, able to be shaped on a very small scale and can keep natural chemicals like proteins and enzymes active. This project will use silk to make optical devices and sensors. Optics made from silk will have all these properties, which means that they can be used as sensors and devices in biochemistry applications that have never been possible before. These cost-effective devices will have the potential to enhance healthcare, emergency medicine and assist early medical diagnosis.Read moreRead less
The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the com ....The photonic immunochip: retrieving individual Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (ELISA) array-units using optical waveguide multicolour fluorescence. Improving the sensitivity and availability of in-vitro immuno-diagnostic tests is a critical goal towards developing real time efficient tools for the detection of infectious diseases, cancers, allergies and auto-immune diseases. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of these tests by reducing background noise that has been a feature of the commonly used ELISA technology. This will be achieved by developing a novel optical integrated waveguide array supporting a large range of distributed tests, including several based on a novel multi-colour detection scheme. This massively parallel approach will underpin a new generation of low-cost, efficient diagnostic tests.Read moreRead less
Ultra-sensitivity through resonances in photonic bandgap fibres. The project will develop innovative biochemical sensors with extreme sensitivity using recently discovered physical processes in novel holey optical fibres. These sensors will be able to detect biological molecules, toxins or dangerous chemicals in minute concentrations, in very small sample sizes. The sensors can be mass-produced cheaply with current fabrication facilities within Australia, enabling their widespread use for water ....Ultra-sensitivity through resonances in photonic bandgap fibres. The project will develop innovative biochemical sensors with extreme sensitivity using recently discovered physical processes in novel holey optical fibres. These sensors will be able to detect biological molecules, toxins or dangerous chemicals in minute concentrations, in very small sample sizes. The sensors can be mass-produced cheaply with current fabrication facilities within Australia, enabling their widespread use for water quality monitoring, environmental monitoring, threat detection, and rapid and reliable diagnosis in medicine.Read moreRead less