Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors w ....Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors will be used to devise a simple portable colorimetric test that can be performed in the vineyard or the winery. The ability to rapidly determine the level of grape contamination with phenolic glucosides would give Australian wine growers and wine makers a powerful tool to mitigate the effects of bushfires.Read moreRead less
Brighter than a synchrotron mid-infrared sources for spectroscopy & sensing. This project intends to develop mid-infrared spectroscopy as a powerful diagnostic tool. Mid-infrared spectroscopy allows a light beam to determine the chemical composition of objects or gaseous samples. It has wide applicability — in fields such as medicine, agriculture, the environment, national security and industrial process control — but its use has been hampered by the lack of bright, low-cost sources and integrat ....Brighter than a synchrotron mid-infrared sources for spectroscopy & sensing. This project intends to develop mid-infrared spectroscopy as a powerful diagnostic tool. Mid-infrared spectroscopy allows a light beam to determine the chemical composition of objects or gaseous samples. It has wide applicability — in fields such as medicine, agriculture, the environment, national security and industrial process control — but its use has been hampered by the lack of bright, low-cost sources and integrated devices. This project aims to implement new Australian-made sources that exceed the brightness of even synchrotrons at modest prices. It also aims to demonstrate a single chip integrated version of such a source as the first step towards deployment of mid-infrared technology.Read moreRead less