Magnetofection In An Oscillating Magnetic Field. The success of genetic engineering is largely dependent on the ability of transfection agents to deliver genes. Low transfection efficiency is now widely recognised as a critical bottleneck to successful gene delivery. The recent emphasis on the development of nanoscale delivery agents has led to new physics and chemistry-based techniques, which take advantage of charge interactions and energetic processes. This multidisciplinary project aims to a ....Magnetofection In An Oscillating Magnetic Field. The success of genetic engineering is largely dependent on the ability of transfection agents to deliver genes. Low transfection efficiency is now widely recognised as a critical bottleneck to successful gene delivery. The recent emphasis on the development of nanoscale delivery agents has led to new physics and chemistry-based techniques, which take advantage of charge interactions and energetic processes. This multidisciplinary project aims to address this highly significant problem by developing a novel methodology to manipulate nanoparticles under the influence of an oscillating magnetic field to achieve high transfection efficiencies in a highly relevant model of epigenetic reprogramming.Read moreRead less
Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The l ....Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The limited tunability of traditional polymers agents makes them unsuitable for this particular application. The multidisciplinary project addresses this significant problem by engineering novel sequences of defined polymer based nanoscale agents to achieve efficient delivery in cells.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,100,000.00
Summary
Plasma-focused ion beam for nanoscale characterisation of materials. This project aims to enable research programmes in functional materials to characterise materials using xenon-plasma focused ion beam (FIB) instrumentation. The plasma FIB, with its fast milling speeds across large areas, will enable new three-dimensional imaging experiments and types of transmission electron microscopy samples. This will have applications in engineering, photovoltaics and environmental geosciences, which all n ....Plasma-focused ion beam for nanoscale characterisation of materials. This project aims to enable research programmes in functional materials to characterise materials using xenon-plasma focused ion beam (FIB) instrumentation. The plasma FIB, with its fast milling speeds across large areas, will enable new three-dimensional imaging experiments and types of transmission electron microscopy samples. This will have applications in engineering, photovoltaics and environmental geosciences, which all need to analyse materials on a nanometre scale.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100100
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,000.00
Summary
Cytometer by Time of Flight (CyTOF): A New Paradigm in Cytometry. Cytometer by Time of Flight (CyTOF) - a new paradigm in cytometry: The acquisition of a Cytometer by Time of Flight will allow multiparametric characterisation of biological systems and quantitative analysis of nano-bio interactions at the single cell level. The convergence of nanotechnology with biomedicine offers unprecedented opportunities for biological applications, including targeted therapeutics. One of the major challenges ....Cytometer by Time of Flight (CyTOF): A New Paradigm in Cytometry. Cytometer by Time of Flight (CyTOF) - a new paradigm in cytometry: The acquisition of a Cytometer by Time of Flight will allow multiparametric characterisation of biological systems and quantitative analysis of nano-bio interactions at the single cell level. The convergence of nanotechnology with biomedicine offers unprecedented opportunities for biological applications, including targeted therapeutics. One of the major challenges lies in understanding the complex interactions between nanoengineered materials and biological systems.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,000.00
Summary
An advanced X-ray facility for surface and in-situ materials characterization. An advanced X-ray facility for surface and in-situ materials characterisation: Materials properties are crucial to the performance of devices and structures, and detailed characterisation at a molecular level is important for optimizing new materials. X-rays are a powerful means of achieving the required level of detail in structural characterisation. The aim of this project is to make available an extremely bright X- ....An advanced X-ray facility for surface and in-situ materials characterization. An advanced X-ray facility for surface and in-situ materials characterisation: Materials properties are crucial to the performance of devices and structures, and detailed characterisation at a molecular level is important for optimizing new materials. X-rays are a powerful means of achieving the required level of detail in structural characterisation. The aim of this project is to make available an extremely bright X-ray source with a suite of advanced analytical tools, including surface structural analysis by reflectometry and grazing incidence diffraction and materials structure determination using powder diffraction and microdiffraction at high and low temperatures. The functions of this facility are broad and its applications include materials science, organic electronics, biomaterials and engineering.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$980,000.00
Summary
Returning Western Australian characterisation capabilities to the cutting edge: high resolution analytical transmission electron microscopy. From the design of future electronic devices to understanding the formation of valuable deposits of gold and iron, the atomic scale structure and composition of materials plays an important role. The electron microscope will aid internationally-recognised WA-based groups conducting high impact research underpinning the Australian economy.
Understanding graphitization: developing a model for activated carbons. For over 60 years it has remained a puzzle why some carbons graphitise under heating while others do not. The question is of practical importance as oxidation of non-graphitising carbons produces activated carbon, a product of high value with industrial, medical and environmental applications. Using computational and experimental techniques the project will study the graphitisation process and pinpoint the structural element ....Understanding graphitization: developing a model for activated carbons. For over 60 years it has remained a puzzle why some carbons graphitise under heating while others do not. The question is of practical importance as oxidation of non-graphitising carbons produces activated carbon, a product of high value with industrial, medical and environmental applications. Using computational and experimental techniques the project will study the graphitisation process and pinpoint the structural elements which inhibit it. Based on these findings the project aims to develop a nanoscale atomistic model for activated carbons. This is expected to be an important contribution to the field of chemical engineering in which current models of activated carbon neglect either curvature in the network or the presence of oxygen.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100056
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$621,198.00
Summary
High-frequency ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging for Western Australia. This project aims to obtain a small animal, high-frequency ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging instrument, to be placed in the University of Western Australia's Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis. As a node of the National Imaging Facility, this infrastructure will result in enhanced capacity for fundamental, interdisciplinary, biological, and bionanotechnology research in Western Australia, and enable ....High-frequency ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging for Western Australia. This project aims to obtain a small animal, high-frequency ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging instrument, to be placed in the University of Western Australia's Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis. As a node of the National Imaging Facility, this infrastructure will result in enhanced capacity for fundamental, interdisciplinary, biological, and bionanotechnology research in Western Australia, and enable pursuit of projects previously only possible either interstate or internationally. New capacity in small animal in-vivo imaging will generate knowledge in biology, feeding into such areas as species conservation and reproductive health, and intellectual property and commercial opportunity in areas such as medical imaging and theranostics.Read moreRead less
A multimodal approach to unravel the role of surface properties in nanoparticle-cell interactions using models of medical emergencies. The design and development of multimodal nanoparticles seek to expand upon the benefits of nanoparticles by delivering imaging and therapeutic agents to specific organs, enabling detection and treatment of disease in a single procedure. The successful implementation of this technology is dependent on our detailed understanding of the nanoparticle-cell interaction ....A multimodal approach to unravel the role of surface properties in nanoparticle-cell interactions using models of medical emergencies. The design and development of multimodal nanoparticles seek to expand upon the benefits of nanoparticles by delivering imaging and therapeutic agents to specific organs, enabling detection and treatment of disease in a single procedure. The successful implementation of this technology is dependent on our detailed understanding of the nanoparticle-cell interactions. This project will address this very important issue by evaluating a range of surface functionalised nanoparticles in highly significant models of medical emergencies. This project will enable development of advanced therapeutic interventions for cancer, central nervous system injuries, cardiovascular diseases and pregnancy related disorders.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$470,000.00
Summary
A world class, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy facility for West Australian researchers. More than 100 West Australian researchers from a broad range of disciplines will benefit from new scanning electron microscopy facilities used to characterise surfaces of materials down to the nanoscale. This new microscope will continue the production of high-impact science outcomes that underpin Australia’s economic and social well being.