Engineered materials for future energy technologies. The development of new technologies to be applied in fuel generation, energy conversion and environmental remediation will have wide national and international impact. The cross-disciplinary and cross-institution research program proposed will draw on expertise within Australia and in Europe for the fabrication of materials for next generation energy devices. In the future, there is the potential that these materials could be fabricated within ....Engineered materials for future energy technologies. The development of new technologies to be applied in fuel generation, energy conversion and environmental remediation will have wide national and international impact. The cross-disciplinary and cross-institution research program proposed will draw on expertise within Australia and in Europe for the fabrication of materials for next generation energy devices. In the future, there is the potential that these materials could be fabricated within Australia and therefore lead to employment nationally, and income generated through the export of advanced catalysts, solar cells and sequestration materials.Read moreRead less
Engineering a technology platform for organoids. Protein delivery technologies hold great potential to improve organoids (miniature organs used as in vitro models), allowing a deep understanding of development. However, current limitations must be overcome - particularly cost, precision, and efficacy. This project will engineer delivery materials to improve the efficacy of organoids, allowing control over the location and timing of protein delivery. Outcomes will include a technology platform o ....Engineering a technology platform for organoids. Protein delivery technologies hold great potential to improve organoids (miniature organs used as in vitro models), allowing a deep understanding of development. However, current limitations must be overcome - particularly cost, precision, and efficacy. This project will engineer delivery materials to improve the efficacy of organoids, allowing control over the location and timing of protein delivery. Outcomes will include a technology platform of immediate use in the agriculture sector and for animal model alternatives. The benefit will be widespread, ensuring the growth and sustainability of our health and agriculture sector. The project will increase public understanding of protein delivery technologies, aiding in technology adoption.Read moreRead less
Expanding the molecular tool set for structural studies of proteins and their complexes. Many applications in medical science and drug development depend on our ability to determine the 3D structures of proteins, protein assemblies and protein-ligand complexes. This project will develop novel lanthanide-binding tags and crosslinking agents that can be coupled to unnatural amino acids introduced into proteins with advanced protein chemistry techniques. These new tools will facilitate the collecti ....Expanding the molecular tool set for structural studies of proteins and their complexes. Many applications in medical science and drug development depend on our ability to determine the 3D structures of proteins, protein assemblies and protein-ligand complexes. This project will develop novel lanthanide-binding tags and crosslinking agents that can be coupled to unnatural amino acids introduced into proteins with advanced protein chemistry techniques. These new tools will facilitate the collection of structure restraints by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and mass spectrometry, which are needed to generate accurate models of proteins and their complexes with other molecules. Major beneficial outcome will include an increase in the number of protein targets amenable to rational drug design and improved methods for generating new drug leads.Read moreRead less
Plasmonic Photochemistry: A nanoscopic solution to global energy and environmental problems. Harvesting energy from light sources, including our sun, can provide a significant fraction of the world's energy need over the next century. In order to meet this critical demand, it is crucial to devise ways to transform light energy into chemical fuels. This project aims to create novel nanostructures that directly couple light energy into chemical reactions. This will be achieved by the creation of ....Plasmonic Photochemistry: A nanoscopic solution to global energy and environmental problems. Harvesting energy from light sources, including our sun, can provide a significant fraction of the world's energy need over the next century. In order to meet this critical demand, it is crucial to devise ways to transform light energy into chemical fuels. This project aims to create novel nanostructures that directly couple light energy into chemical reactions. This will be achieved by the creation of metallic nanoparticles that can transform light energy into hot electrons: entities that can efficiently drive the production of chemical fuels in a process similar to that of photosynthesis.Read moreRead less
Soft nanotubes for biomedical applications. Nature employs self-assembly of small molecules to build complex materials. This project will mimic natural self-assemblies to design synthetic tubular structures on the nanoscale, and apply these nanostructures to solve problems in the fields of biology and medicine.