Rare isotopes as tracers of prosthesis debris. The incidence of knee replacement surgery in Australia is 30,000 per year. Limited by wear debris, the lifespan of knee implants is only 10-15 years and can be much shorter. Due to increasing life expectancy, many patients need several surgical procedures. As a multi-disciplinary team of materials-, isotope-tracing- and medical-experts, we aim to understand and monitor wear debris in prostheses. Knee replacement surgery alone imposes a high burden o ....Rare isotopes as tracers of prosthesis debris. The incidence of knee replacement surgery in Australia is 30,000 per year. Limited by wear debris, the lifespan of knee implants is only 10-15 years and can be much shorter. Due to increasing life expectancy, many patients need several surgical procedures. As a multi-disciplinary team of materials-, isotope-tracing- and medical-experts, we aim to understand and monitor wear debris in prostheses. Knee replacement surgery alone imposes a high burden of annually half a billion dollars on the Australian health budget. Controlling and reducing wear debris in prosthesis joints would reduce these costs and improve patients' quality of life.Read moreRead less
Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vib ....Airborne vibration isolation for geophysical exploration. Sensitive airborne instrumentation for geophysical exploration is almost always degraded in sensitivity by the high levels of vibration and acoustic noise in survey aircraft. This project will develop a prototype robust vibration isolator with exceptional isolation across the audio frequency band. The device uses advanced techniques developed for gravitational wave detection. The system will be tested in survey aircraft using both vibration sensors and actual survey instrumentation to confirm its effectiveness, robustness and durability.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
The Surface Science of Vacuum Glazing. In order to achieve a stable vacuum in evacuated glazing, high temperature baking during evacuation is required. The high temperature processing prevents the use of strengthened glass, such as tempered glass. However, samples made at low temperatures suffer from poor vacuum characteristics, particularly when exposed to UV radiation. In this project, we aim to discover the chemical and physical processes occurring on the glass surface responsible for vacuum ....The Surface Science of Vacuum Glazing. In order to achieve a stable vacuum in evacuated glazing, high temperature baking during evacuation is required. The high temperature processing prevents the use of strengthened glass, such as tempered glass. However, samples made at low temperatures suffer from poor vacuum characteristics, particularly when exposed to UV radiation. In this project, we aim to discover the chemical and physical processes occurring on the glass surface responsible for vacuum degradation. We will use this knowledge to develop a low temperature manufacturing process that can be used with tempered glass and results in a high-quality vacuum, stable over the device service life.Read moreRead less
Development of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Methods and Technology to Enhance the Detection of Explosives and Other Contraband. This project will develop new methods and technology for the detection of explosives and other compounds using Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance. This technique is of great importance to aviation security and the military and is particularly relevant to the priority goal of 'Safeguarding Australia'. The Industry partner has licensing contracts with major x-ray manufacturer ....Development of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance Methods and Technology to Enhance the Detection of Explosives and Other Contraband. This project will develop new methods and technology for the detection of explosives and other compounds using Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance. This technique is of great importance to aviation security and the military and is particularly relevant to the priority goal of 'Safeguarding Australia'. The Industry partner has licensing contracts with major x-ray manufacturers and system integrators to integrate this technology. These investigations should yield improvements in the signal to noise ratio, false alarm rates and the spatial discrimination of targets. This work will lead to significant increases in the value of the technology and open up new areas of commercialization.Read moreRead less
Regulation of large artery stiffness by endothelium-derived mediators and effects on the arterial pressure waveform. Stiffening of arteries is an important cardiovascular risk factor and increases with age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial cells), become damaged and this reduces the available amount of a dilator substance, nitric oxide, and increases the activity of a constrictor substance, endothelin-1. We have shown that nitric ....Regulation of large artery stiffness by endothelium-derived mediators and effects on the arterial pressure waveform. Stiffening of arteries is an important cardiovascular risk factor and increases with age, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial cells), become damaged and this reduces the available amount of a dilator substance, nitric oxide, and increases the activity of a constrictor substance, endothelin-1. We have shown that nitric oxide regulates large artery stiffness and we believe that other endothelial mediators are also important regulators. Therefore, we aim to explore this in a series of studies. Regulation of stiffness of large arteries will improve treatment of age-related cardiovascular disease (eg isolated systolic hypertension)Read moreRead less
Multipurpose separation platforms for protein purification. Over the next decades, many new therapies and products will be needed to enhance the quality of human life. Biopharmaceuticals and other protein-based products will thus be increasingly in demand. This will require significant improvements in biotechnological procedures, particularly sophisticated purification technologies. Through the development of a novel technology, this project is anticipated to significantly contribute to these so ....Multipurpose separation platforms for protein purification. Over the next decades, many new therapies and products will be needed to enhance the quality of human life. Biopharmaceuticals and other protein-based products will thus be increasingly in demand. This will require significant improvements in biotechnological procedures, particularly sophisticated purification technologies. Through the development of a novel technology, this project is anticipated to significantly contribute to these societal needs and provide a new way to purify these important molecules. National and community benefits will accrue from this scientific innovation and from its application, which is expected to provide more efficient manufacturing opportunities for key biotechnology industries.Read moreRead less
Novel Technologies for the Purification of Recombinant Proteins. Availability of enabling technologies for the large-scale purification of recombinant proteins is an essential requirement of the biotechnology industry. This project aims to integrate two concepts in molecular biorecognition. New modalities of immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography will be linked with the selection of new types of peptide affinity handles that can be inserted by genetic engineering methods into proteins pro ....Novel Technologies for the Purification of Recombinant Proteins. Availability of enabling technologies for the large-scale purification of recombinant proteins is an essential requirement of the biotechnology industry. This project aims to integrate two concepts in molecular biorecognition. New modalities of immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography will be linked with the selection of new types of peptide affinity handles that can be inserted by genetic engineering methods into proteins produced by biotechnological procedures. The approach followed then allows these handles to be removed following isolation of the target protein. This project could thus lead to a considerable advance in the manufacture of recombinant proteins intended for human therapy.Read moreRead less
Indian Sandalwood: genetic and oil diversity, and oil biochemistry of the Australian germplasm collection. The main aim is to improve the commerciality of the sandalwood industry in tropical Australia through smarter tree selection and breeding by development of knowledge of oil quality and quantity, oil biochemistry and DNA marker-assisted selection of the germplasm collection available in Australia.
Fibre Optic Dosimeters for Medical and Environmental Applications. We will develop fibre optic dosimeters for environmental monitoring and radiation therapy. A novel approach using refractive index gradients will be used to capture scintillator light while rejecting noise. New knowledge will be gained of the mechanisms of radiation damage in scintillators and glasses. The small, flexible, accurate fibre optic dosimeters will be equivalent in absorbing characteristics to human tissue, making them ....Fibre Optic Dosimeters for Medical and Environmental Applications. We will develop fibre optic dosimeters for environmental monitoring and radiation therapy. A novel approach using refractive index gradients will be used to capture scintillator light while rejecting noise. New knowledge will be gained of the mechanisms of radiation damage in scintillators and glasses. The small, flexible, accurate fibre optic dosimeters will be equivalent in absorbing characteristics to human tissue, making them superior to all currently available dosimeters. Fibre optic dosimeters will enable new adaptive radiotherapy techniques and provide quality assurance of dose delivery in radiotherapy. Their multiplexing capability will lead to applications in monitoring of workplaces and aerospace environments.Read moreRead less