Macromolecular Self-Assembly of Amyloid Fibrils. The misfolding of proteins is a key issue in public health. Common diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease are associated with protein misfolding, and have a major impact on society. The use of proteins as therapeutic drugs is now common ( e.g. as vaccines, for immune disorders) but they can be rendered ineffective or harmful by protein misfolding. Through this project, we will enhance the fundamental understandin ....Macromolecular Self-Assembly of Amyloid Fibrils. The misfolding of proteins is a key issue in public health. Common diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease are associated with protein misfolding, and have a major impact on society. The use of proteins as therapeutic drugs is now common ( e.g. as vaccines, for immune disorders) but they can be rendered ineffective or harmful by protein misfolding. Through this project, we will enhance the fundamental understanding of the processes of protein assembly in solution, at solid surfaces, and under shear.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0454207
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,381.00
Summary
New Technology to Fight Crime and Terrorism: Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer Facilities (LA-ICP-MS). Australia urgently needs new technologies to prevent and fight crime and terrorism. This equipment will address current outstanding problems in forensic science and related disciplines, namely the requirement to (1) analyse minute quantities of samples, (2) differentiate samples with similar matrices but trace differences, (3) analyse solid samples that are difficult t ....New Technology to Fight Crime and Terrorism: Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer Facilities (LA-ICP-MS). Australia urgently needs new technologies to prevent and fight crime and terrorism. This equipment will address current outstanding problems in forensic science and related disciplines, namely the requirement to (1) analyse minute quantities of samples, (2) differentiate samples with similar matrices but trace differences, (3) analyse solid samples that are difficult to analyse by current techniques. This equipment is also vital for research which will improve the justice system, the quality of food and health products and increase industry competitiveness through novel industrial and environmental testing. Acquiring this infrastructure will safeguard and ensure Australia's continuing prosperity.Read moreRead less
Molecular Fingerprinting: Forensic Spectroscopy of Trace Gases. Safeguarding Australia from terrorism, crime and invasive diseases is essential to securing our national infrastructure. This project will develop national capabilities in anticipating and responding to critical threats to society. The scientific instrumentation developed from this effort will enhance Australia's potential aid for early detection of explosive and chemical weaponry and also in the analysis of crime scenes. This rese ....Molecular Fingerprinting: Forensic Spectroscopy of Trace Gases. Safeguarding Australia from terrorism, crime and invasive diseases is essential to securing our national infrastructure. This project will develop national capabilities in anticipating and responding to critical threats to society. The scientific instrumentation developed from this effort will enhance Australia's potential aid for early detection of explosive and chemical weaponry and also in the analysis of crime scenes. This research will significantly improve our abilities to maintain the operational advantage of Australia's security agencies through superior capabilities in threat detection.Read moreRead less
High resolution single particle analysis of biological macromolecules. One of the great challenges of cell biology is to increase the rate of atomic resolution structure determination, particularly of membrane proteins and macromolecular assemblies. The current rate-limiting step is high quality crystal production. Our goal is to prove that protein structures can be determined to atomic resolution by single-particle analysis. 3D structures will be produced by computationally aligning high-resolu ....High resolution single particle analysis of biological macromolecules. One of the great challenges of cell biology is to increase the rate of atomic resolution structure determination, particularly of membrane proteins and macromolecular assemblies. The current rate-limiting step is high quality crystal production. Our goal is to prove that protein structures can be determined to atomic resolution by single-particle analysis. 3D structures will be produced by computationally aligning high-resolution electron microscope images of individual, randomly oriented molecules. The importance of this project is highlighted by the fact over 120,000 protein sequences are already databased, a number set to increase rapidly as new genome sequencing projects are completed.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775650
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
Advanced multi-purpose analytical pyrolysis facility. Investment by the ARC, two WA universities, a government research agency, a CRC (and idirectly by a water utility) demonstrate the national need for this analytical facility and the broad commitment to maintain Australia's reputation in the field of analytical pyrolysis. An innovative laser micropyrolysis facility will be concurrently used with a recent commercially available unit to support research of present day and palaeo-environmental o ....Advanced multi-purpose analytical pyrolysis facility. Investment by the ARC, two WA universities, a government research agency, a CRC (and idirectly by a water utility) demonstrate the national need for this analytical facility and the broad commitment to maintain Australia's reputation in the field of analytical pyrolysis. An innovative laser micropyrolysis facility will be concurrently used with a recent commercially available unit to support research of present day and palaeo-environmental occurrences of OM, directly assisting an eclectic range of research activities including environmental protection and petroleum exploration. This facility will also aid the chemical fingerprinting of minute forensic evidence, ultimately helping to convict perpetrators of crime.
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Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the var ....Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the various Federal and State police and forensic agencies, and the customs service, etc, highlights the importance of this project to the nation. Finally, a PhD student and a research assistant will be involved with the project and will gain specialised skills positioning them to make strong contributions to Australia's counter-terrorism measures.Read moreRead less
Static and Dynamic Forces in Colloidal and Fluid Systems. Novel research based around the Atomic Force Microscope are pursued to make ultra-sensitive measurement of forces between emulsion droplets and probe the mechanical properties of long molecules such as DNA. These studies generate basic knowledge that provides insight about emulsion stability that are of importance from the food and pharmaceutical industries to manufacturing drilling mud for oil wells. The results also provide qualitativ ....Static and Dynamic Forces in Colloidal and Fluid Systems. Novel research based around the Atomic Force Microscope are pursued to make ultra-sensitive measurement of forces between emulsion droplets and probe the mechanical properties of long molecules such as DNA. These studies generate basic knowledge that provides insight about emulsion stability that are of importance from the food and pharmaceutical industries to manufacturing drilling mud for oil wells. The results also provide qualitative and predictive information about the mechanisms that determine the interaction involving large bio-molecules such as DNA and proteins. The instrumentation created along the way has the potential to be developed into special purpose ultra-sensitive devices and sensors.Read moreRead less
The stability of shallow coastal sediments with and without seagrasses. One of the key factors influencing the success of seagrass transplantation work appears to be the stability of the surrounding sediment, and therefore an understanding of the dynamism of the sediments is crucial to further progress in this field. This project will examine the dynamics of sediments around seagrass meadows across a range of wave energies. A series of automated sediment height loggers will be deployed in seagra ....The stability of shallow coastal sediments with and without seagrasses. One of the key factors influencing the success of seagrass transplantation work appears to be the stability of the surrounding sediment, and therefore an understanding of the dynamism of the sediments is crucial to further progress in this field. This project will examine the dynamics of sediments around seagrass meadows across a range of wave energies. A series of automated sediment height loggers will be deployed in seagrass meadows, as well as locations where seagrass meadows have been lost. Detailed studies of the sediments and environmental conditions will be undertaken at the same time, permitting comparisons between different locations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100146
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$800,000.00
Summary
Ultra high vacuum scanning probe microscope facility. Ultra high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy underpins advances in the understanding of novel materials for electronics, engineering and medical applications, including thin-films, nanostructures, advanced semiconductors, nanostructured (organic or inorganic) conductors, and nanoscale interfaces (heteronanostructures). It is a core technique underpinning the new Superscience agenda in Future Technologies. A number of present and future re ....Ultra high vacuum scanning probe microscope facility. Ultra high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy underpins advances in the understanding of novel materials for electronics, engineering and medical applications, including thin-films, nanostructures, advanced semiconductors, nanostructured (organic or inorganic) conductors, and nanoscale interfaces (heteronanostructures). It is a core technique underpinning the new Superscience agenda in Future Technologies. A number of present and future research fields will benefit from the presence of this instrument, which will enhance Australia's competitiveness in nanotechnology research and development. Training of PhD and graduate students in this area is essential to exploit the potentiality of nanotechnology for the future benefit of Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of an integrated methodology to assess dewatering system performance in solid-liquid separation. 3D visualisations of microstructures are possible with techniques such as confocal laser microscopy and high resolution X-ray microtomography. Data obtained in-situ enable direct computation of solids assembly properties and their permeability to fluids. A specific application involving aggregate formation and sediment networks could be evaluated through micro-scale analysis combined with ....Development of an integrated methodology to assess dewatering system performance in solid-liquid separation. 3D visualisations of microstructures are possible with techniques such as confocal laser microscopy and high resolution X-ray microtomography. Data obtained in-situ enable direct computation of solids assembly properties and their permeability to fluids. A specific application involving aggregate formation and sediment networks could be evaluated through micro-scale analysis combined with robust fluid flow simulations. The method can potentially be utilized to predict trends such as filtration behaviour of materials under different states of compression. This offers significant benefits in formulating the design of flocculated systems pertinent to a number of industrial sectors wishing to design optimum solid-liquid separation processes.Read moreRead less