Polymer Inclusion Membranes for Electrokinetic Sampling and Separation. This proposal aims to understand the chemical and physical properties governing the transport of ions into and within advanced extracting polymeric materials, known as polymer inclusion membranes, under the influence of an applied voltage. These membranes are dry-to-touch and represent a new and potentially powerful analytical platform for environmental, medical and industry sample preparation. By understanding the transport ....Polymer Inclusion Membranes for Electrokinetic Sampling and Separation. This proposal aims to understand the chemical and physical properties governing the transport of ions into and within advanced extracting polymeric materials, known as polymer inclusion membranes, under the influence of an applied voltage. These membranes are dry-to-touch and represent a new and potentially powerful analytical platform for environmental, medical and industry sample preparation. By understanding the transport mechanism, new membranes will be developed, capable of purifying and concentrating diverse targets chemicals from liquid and solid samples. These processes can take place during sample transportation to a centralised laboratory thus simplifying and streamlining analysis upon arrival to decrease drastically its costs.Read moreRead less
Self-assembled phases as effective and selective materials for analysis. This project aims to develop a suite of self-assembled amphiphilic molecules to form distinctive materials for analytical chemistry. The cost-effective, easy to prepare, selective and environmentally benign materials will be for non-volatile bioactive and chiral molecular targets that are commonly encountered every day or are difficult to study. The project will open a new research area and will further uplift the internati ....Self-assembled phases as effective and selective materials for analysis. This project aims to develop a suite of self-assembled amphiphilic molecules to form distinctive materials for analytical chemistry. The cost-effective, easy to prepare, selective and environmentally benign materials will be for non-volatile bioactive and chiral molecular targets that are commonly encountered every day or are difficult to study. The project will open a new research area and will further uplift the international standing of Australia in the field. The project will provide a high level of training and expertise for Australia-based chemists.Read moreRead less
Micro-electrofluidic platforms for monitoring 3D human biological models. The ability to study living cells and human biological models (cell cultures) delivers greater understanding of basic biological function and response to applied (bio)chemical stimuli. Creating the physical environments to sustain biological models, and mimic natural conditions and fluidic pathways, is immensely challenging, yet essential to deliver meaningful observational data. This project will deliver this capability t ....Micro-electrofluidic platforms for monitoring 3D human biological models. The ability to study living cells and human biological models (cell cultures) delivers greater understanding of basic biological function and response to applied (bio)chemical stimuli. Creating the physical environments to sustain biological models, and mimic natural conditions and fluidic pathways, is immensely challenging, yet essential to deliver meaningful observational data. This project will deliver this capability through the convergence of expertise and innovation in analytical chemistry, materials science and cellular biology, ultilising the latest technology and understanding of 3D micro/electrofluidics, to enable the study and stimulation of advanced biological models, sustained within precisely controlled 3D micro-environments.Read moreRead less
3D printed microchemical devices and systems. This project aims to address the barriers faced by 3D printing in chemistry. 3D printing can create bespoke 3D structures within a fraction of time and cost compared to traditional fabrication. However, its scope in chemistry has been limited by the poor chemical robustness, biotoxicity and low resolution of the 3D printed components. Hence, this project will develop novel gold coating techniques and explore high-resolution 3D printing to overcome th ....3D printed microchemical devices and systems. This project aims to address the barriers faced by 3D printing in chemistry. 3D printing can create bespoke 3D structures within a fraction of time and cost compared to traditional fabrication. However, its scope in chemistry has been limited by the poor chemical robustness, biotoxicity and low resolution of the 3D printed components. Hence, this project will develop novel gold coating techniques and explore high-resolution 3D printing to overcome these challenges. The project should generate commercially significant products (analytical platforms), technology (gold coating) and patents. The developed systems and technologies will address Australian research challenges in advanced manufacturing and enable on-site environmental monitoring.Read moreRead less
Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental ....Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental salt accumulation in the modules (known as cake-enhanced concentration polarisation) and thus validate 3D simulations of this phenomenon. The ability to unambiguously detect salt accumulation in membrane modules will then be extrapolated to a non-invasive monitoring tool for membrane fouling in desalination facilities.Read moreRead less
A novel ion-selective membrane for efficient lithium recovery . This project aims to fabricate a novel membrane that display selective lithium recovery from brine in a renewable energy driven electrochemical membrane technology. The fabrication of lithium selective membranes embedded with nanomaterials and metal organic framework will create new knowledge on the dynamics of ion-size sieving and accelerating lithium transportation. This project will provide significant environmental and economic ....A novel ion-selective membrane for efficient lithium recovery . This project aims to fabricate a novel membrane that display selective lithium recovery from brine in a renewable energy driven electrochemical membrane technology. The fabrication of lithium selective membranes embedded with nanomaterials and metal organic framework will create new knowledge on the dynamics of ion-size sieving and accelerating lithium transportation. This project will provide significant environmental and economic benefit by establishing a rapid and chemical free method to recover lithium affordably and orders of magnitude more efficiently than hard rock extraction. This project will bring significant commercial benefits to Australian mining industry, desalination and water treatment sectors.Read moreRead less
A global platform for identifying emerging chemical threats. This project aims to develop an automated early warning social network to systematically detect newly identified emerging chemical threats. Rapid identification of chemical exposures is key to managing chemical threats and associated risks. Global collaboration and sharing of archived, high-resolution mass spectrometry data through open/social platforms will revolutionise data processing and chemical threat identification. This project ....A global platform for identifying emerging chemical threats. This project aims to develop an automated early warning social network to systematically detect newly identified emerging chemical threats. Rapid identification of chemical exposures is key to managing chemical threats and associated risks. Global collaboration and sharing of archived, high-resolution mass spectrometry data through open/social platforms will revolutionise data processing and chemical threat identification. This project will result in a new and cost-effective approach for the identification, tracking and prioritisation of emerging chemical threats and address key national and global health risks. The outcomes include the first spatial and temporal distribution of new emerging chemical threats in Australia.Read moreRead less
Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective mole ....Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective molecule transport. The membranes developed in the project have great potentials for improving the production capacity and sustainability of Australian industries, e.g., pharmaceutical manufacturing, bioethanol production and petroleum refining, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include ne ....Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include new membrane compositions, design principles, fabrication techniques, and proof-of-concept production of scalable, high-performance composite membranes. This project should produce significant economic and environmental benefits in the development of advanced membranes, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.Read moreRead less
Highly Efficient Nanomotors for Autonomous Cell Recognition and Isolation. This project aims to develop next-generation self-driven nanomotors capable of long-range motion with highly controlled directionality for cell recognition, transportation and separation in complex biological environments, to allow autonomous and seamless cell sorting with high accuracy. The anticipated goal of this project is to advance the field of nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing with potential to support new ....Highly Efficient Nanomotors for Autonomous Cell Recognition and Isolation. This project aims to develop next-generation self-driven nanomotors capable of long-range motion with highly controlled directionality for cell recognition, transportation and separation in complex biological environments, to allow autonomous and seamless cell sorting with high accuracy. The anticipated goal of this project is to advance the field of nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing with potential to support new applications and to value-add Australia’s advanced manufacturing industry, presenting new opportunities for Australian MedTech industries with innovative, disruptive technologies to address its unique needs and to claim Australia’s position within the competitive global market.Read moreRead less