New photoinitiators and polymers for tack-free LED cured surface coatings. This project aims to develop surface coatings curable by energy from Light Emitting Diodes (LEDS) by overcoming existing hurdles, while improving workplace health and safety.
The project expects to achieve this by developing a new class of photoinitiator molecules, with enhanced reactivity, via a unique understanding of synthesis, photochemistry and commercial coatings formulation.
Outcomes will be new surface coatings ....New photoinitiators and polymers for tack-free LED cured surface coatings. This project aims to develop surface coatings curable by energy from Light Emitting Diodes (LEDS) by overcoming existing hurdles, while improving workplace health and safety.
The project expects to achieve this by developing a new class of photoinitiator molecules, with enhanced reactivity, via a unique understanding of synthesis, photochemistry and commercial coatings formulation.
Outcomes will be new surface coatings for a wide range of end uses, publication in high ranking journals and commercialisation of the technology.
Benefits of this project will include elimination of mercury and reduction in exposure to solvents in the Australian workplace, and a lower energy requirement to produce high-quality surface coated products.Read moreRead less
Discovering new organic chemistry using an inorganic touch. This project aims to discover new organic chemistry by treating carbon like a metal atom. Advances in fundamental organic chemistry have been important in developing products, including medicines, plastics and television display technology. Much research activity relies on applying existing organic chemistry, but inventing genuinely new organic chemistry is more difficult. By viewing carbon as a metal, this project will try to solve imp ....Discovering new organic chemistry using an inorganic touch. This project aims to discover new organic chemistry by treating carbon like a metal atom. Advances in fundamental organic chemistry have been important in developing products, including medicines, plastics and television display technology. Much research activity relies on applying existing organic chemistry, but inventing genuinely new organic chemistry is more difficult. By viewing carbon as a metal, this project will try to solve important problems in organic chemistry that have been unresolved for decades, and synthesise valuable chemicals normally generated using expensive precious metal catalysts.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100065
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,808.00
Summary
Designing Organocatalysts to Achieve Hyperpolarised Magnetic Resonance. Magnetic resonance techniques (such as MRI scans) suffer from an inherent insensitivity problem. In medical imaging, this can hamper diagnosis and mean long scan times for patients. This project aims to chemically develop catalysts which dramatically increase sensitivity, producing a signal that is thousands of times more visible. This project is significant as these catalysts can turn common, harmless molecules in the body ....Designing Organocatalysts to Achieve Hyperpolarised Magnetic Resonance. Magnetic resonance techniques (such as MRI scans) suffer from an inherent insensitivity problem. In medical imaging, this can hamper diagnosis and mean long scan times for patients. This project aims to chemically develop catalysts which dramatically increase sensitivity, producing a signal that is thousands of times more visible. This project is significant as these catalysts can turn common, harmless molecules in the body - even water - into visible tracers. The expected outcomes of this project include the synthesis and understanding of these catalysts which will be chemically fine-tuned to maximise their effectiveness. Potential benefits include translation to MRI applications to improve diagnosis and treatment, or chemical monitoring.Read moreRead less
Shifting the trend in radical battery research . The project aims to address a growing problem of increasing energy consumption by storing intermittent energy from the sun in affordable and efficient flow batteries. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of materials science and battery research by using innovative theoretical chemistry approaches to studying electrochemical properties of nitroxide radicals in ionic media. The project aims to develop radical organic flow batt ....Shifting the trend in radical battery research . The project aims to address a growing problem of increasing energy consumption by storing intermittent energy from the sun in affordable and efficient flow batteries. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of materials science and battery research by using innovative theoretical chemistry approaches to studying electrochemical properties of nitroxide radicals in ionic media. The project aims to develop radical organic flow batteries by utilising ionic liquids to stabilise radicals. Intended outcomes of the project include improved efficiency of flow batteries that can store energy from widely used solar panels. This should provide significant benefits to Australia’s effort to switch to renewable energy technologies. Read moreRead less
A new molecular platform for catalytic synthesis of heterocycles. This project aims to address the lack of efficient methods to prepare cyclic molecules of biological relevance by utilising novel molecular platforms developed in our laboratories. This project expects to generate new cyclic molecules using these innovative molecular platforms by employing catalysts to reduce raw material and energy cost. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced chemical technology to prepare cyclic ....A new molecular platform for catalytic synthesis of heterocycles. This project aims to address the lack of efficient methods to prepare cyclic molecules of biological relevance by utilising novel molecular platforms developed in our laboratories. This project expects to generate new cyclic molecules using these innovative molecular platforms by employing catalysts to reduce raw material and energy cost. The expected outcomes of this project include enhanced chemical technology to prepare cyclic molecules of pharmaceutical importance and the training of highly skilled PhD students. This should provide significant benefits, such as increased capacity for the development of new pharmaceuticals and advanced materials.Read moreRead less
New antiparasitics to protect Australian livestock. There is an urgent need for new antiparasitics to treat multi-drug resistant livestock infections. This project aims to explore the bacteria and fungi present in the microbiomes of heavily infected sheep faeces and pastures, challenging them with environmental cues, including those from associated parasites, to stimulate production of defensive chemicals hidden deep within their genomes. Enabled by an integrated pipeline of high throughput anal ....New antiparasitics to protect Australian livestock. There is an urgent need for new antiparasitics to treat multi-drug resistant livestock infections. This project aims to explore the bacteria and fungi present in the microbiomes of heavily infected sheep faeces and pastures, challenging them with environmental cues, including those from associated parasites, to stimulate production of defensive chemicals hidden deep within their genomes. Enabled by an integrated pipeline of high throughput analytical cultivation, molecular networking, and chemical and biological analyses, expected outcomes include an enhanced ability to explore and exploit valuable chemistry hidden within microbial genomes, leading to the discovery of new classes of natural antiparasitic to safeguard livestock.
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New Discoveries in Organic Synthesis Inspired by the Efficiency of Nature. Nature can assemble complex organic molecules from simple starting materials with apparent ease, but the laboratory synthesis of these natural products is very difficult. This project aims to mimic the way in which Nature constructs organic compounds and thus develop more efficient, greener synthetic processes in which there is a rapid build up of molecular complexity via “biomimetic” reactions. We will integrate this app ....New Discoveries in Organic Synthesis Inspired by the Efficiency of Nature. Nature can assemble complex organic molecules from simple starting materials with apparent ease, but the laboratory synthesis of these natural products is very difficult. This project aims to mimic the way in which Nature constructs organic compounds and thus develop more efficient, greener synthetic processes in which there is a rapid build up of molecular complexity via “biomimetic” reactions. We will integrate this approach with modern methods of catalysis, including electrochemistry, photochemistry and biocatalysis. As a result, this work will expand the chemical space available to synthetic chemists working in the pharmaceutical industry. A further benefit is the training of the next generation of Australian synthetic chemists. Read moreRead less
Polarity inversion of conjugate acceptors: New opportunities in catalysis. Conjugate acceptors are common chemicals that are readily available from petrochemical and biomass feedstocks. While they are used extensively to build functional materials, including polymers and medicines, the reactions that they can engage in are largely limited to those exploiting their natural reactivity. In this project, catalysis will be used to allow these ubiquitous building blocks to react in entirely new ways. ....Polarity inversion of conjugate acceptors: New opportunities in catalysis. Conjugate acceptors are common chemicals that are readily available from petrochemical and biomass feedstocks. While they are used extensively to build functional materials, including polymers and medicines, the reactions that they can engage in are largely limited to those exploiting their natural reactivity. In this project, catalysis will be used to allow these ubiquitous building blocks to react in entirely new ways. In doing so new chemical reactions will be discovered that convert simple building blocks into sophisticated fine chemicals. The potential utility of the products is diverse and will enable future applications in fields focused on the preparation of functional materials. Read moreRead less
Lessons From Nature: Late Stage Oxidation in Total Synthesis. This project aims to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products. The key aspect is the application of chemistry inspired by Nature to deliver molecular complexity in a rapid fashion which would allow for the production of molecules otherwise unavailable in sufficient quantities from the natural sources. This research will utilize late stage oxidation of intermediates to provide ready acces ....Lessons From Nature: Late Stage Oxidation in Total Synthesis. This project aims to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products. The key aspect is the application of chemistry inspired by Nature to deliver molecular complexity in a rapid fashion which would allow for the production of molecules otherwise unavailable in sufficient quantities from the natural sources. This research will utilize late stage oxidation of intermediates to provide ready access to complex molecules. The main goal is the development of new chemical and biological catalysts for further application in organic synthesis with a view to the production of new medicinal agents and important materials.Read moreRead less
Radical redox indicators. This project aims to synthesise the first examples of advanced biological imaging agents that can reversibly respond to the oxidative status of living cells. Novel mitochondrially-targeted, fluorescent probes will be derived from several well-established families of biological dyes through the introduction of a stable free radical within the parent structure. The design of the new imaging agents aims to both enhance retention in, and restrict the fluorescence response t ....Radical redox indicators. This project aims to synthesise the first examples of advanced biological imaging agents that can reversibly respond to the oxidative status of living cells. Novel mitochondrially-targeted, fluorescent probes will be derived from several well-established families of biological dyes through the introduction of a stable free radical within the parent structure. The design of the new imaging agents aims to both enhance retention in, and restrict the fluorescence response to, the mitochondria so that changes in oxidation and reduction can be monitored. The probes will provide an innovative new means to assess reactive species and associated oxidative stress, thus delivering a new methodology to aid research into mitochondrial chemical biology.Read moreRead less